WV Chamber of Commerce: Oral Health is Important for West Virginia's Economy
"The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce advocates the development of a comprehensive plan to address the issue of poor oral health in West Virginia. The Chamber supports efforts by Governor Joe Manchin and First Lady Gail Manchin to develop collaboration on this issue through the summit on oral health convened in 2006 and the efforts of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation resulting in an investment of nearly $2 million in oral health initiatives in West Virginia in recent years.
"The Chamber recognizes that oral health is an integral part of personal health and effective prevention solutions are a good investment in the health of West Virginia, particularly for the children of this state. The West Virginia Chamber supports initiatives to expand access to oral health screening and treatment in school-based and community settings (including fluoride varnish and dental sealant application for children), coordination of the practice regulations of the various professional organizations to increase access to oral health services, initiatives to recruit and retain oral health providers in rural and medically underserved areas, use of teledentistry and telehealth applications, where appropriate, to connect patients in rural areas to oral health screening and treatment resources and greater awareness in the our communities and the workplace of the importance of maintaining good oral health."
Read entire statement of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
What is West Virginia Partners
for Oral Health?
A project of West Virginia Community Voices, Inc. funded by The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. What we do:
- Support and help coordinate community-based oral health projects.
- Compile results of research and information on oral health in West Virginia.
- Educate policy-makers and the public about the importance of good oral health, especially of pregnant women.
- Help integrate oral health into parent and provider health education programs; and
- Address provider payment issues for oral health with Medicaid, CHIP and PEIA.
Oral Health Policy Symposium
Summary Available
Experts
discussed oral health policy with a national audience at an
oral health policy symposium on June 17, 2008 in Baltimore,
Maryland. The symposium was titled Developing Comprehensive
Oral Health Policy: Challenges and Opportunities for State
Health Policy Makers. A complete summary and materials will
soon be available on the website of the
Hilltop Institute.
For a quick two page summary from Renate Pore click
here
Focus on the Eastern Panhandle
How can the fastest growing, most economically stable part of our
state be the worst in providing dental services to its community?
The answer is lack of dentists.
Just ask Dr. Lisa Dunn, Director of Dental Health Programs for West Virginia University’s Health Sciences Center Eastern Division. She says that according to a 2003 study by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health more than 10,000 Medicaid-eligible children in Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan Counties were without a dental home. | Read More
Behind the Front Page
Latest News
Mission of Mercy Project in Eastern Panhandle a Great
Success. See the
MOM Slide
Show.
We are developing an extensive list of online resources. Be sure to visit.
Resource LibraryA $3,000 grant has been awarded to the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department to help fund oral health education for the Women, Infant and Children's program and children's clinics.
Read more
