KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - Kids Get Care, a program designed to link children to a health care home for preventive services and primary care regardless of insurance status, has received a second-year grant for $185,091 from the Washington Dental Service Foundation (WDSF).

Reaching populations at risk for poor oral health outcomes, the program partners with community- based organizations in outreach and oral health screening efforts, trains primary care medical providers to include preventive oral health activities and recruits dentists to see more Medicaid eligible children.

"By incorporating children early into our health systems, including oral health care, we can reduce the risk of diseases and make sure that they live healthy and productive lives," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle and King County.

Tracy Garland, WDSF President and CEO, said there were practical reasons for the Foundation's grant: "This is a smart use of precious health care dollars. Prevention and early treatment saves communities money. It costs a few dollars for a dentist or doctor to apply fluoride varnish to a toddler's teeth. It can cost literally thousands of dollars when a child comes to an emergency room with a mouth full of decaying teeth."

Kids Get Care is also funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Community Access Program (CAP), a federal initiative to strengthen health care services for the uninsured and underinsured. A second-year CAP grant for $692,417 extends through August 2003. These grants were awarded to Public Health - Seattle and King County through the King County Health Action Plan, whose mission is to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations in King County.

"The gift of this program is that it creates opportunities for doctors and dentists to talk to each other about how poor oral health impacts a child's overall wellness and then work together to generate positive and preventive solutions," said Marty Lieberman, Dental Director of Puget Sound Neighborhood Health Centers.

The KGC oral health program activities focus on children up to five years of age in two hub sites (Odessa Brown Children's Clinic and Puget Sound Neighborhood Health Center's Joe Whiting and High Point Clinics) and their surrounding communities that are home to high concentrations of uninsured and underinsured children. The first year achievements of the oral health program include:

• 4,000 children assisted with linkages to oral health care services
• 200 community outreach workers trained in oral health promotion
• Over 100 primary care medical providers trained to integrate oral health screening exams and preventive measures such as the application of fluoride varnish into day-to-day clinic visits.

"The training and hands-on coaching gives our medical staff the confidence to incorporate new activities such as fluoride varnishes into their day-to-day clinical practice," said Dr. Ben Danielson, Medical Director of Odessa Brown Children's Clinic. "Early intervention is key to preventing of childhood caries."

A success story

There are already early successes at the Joe Whiting Dental Clinic. A two-year old, no longer able to eat solid food and having difficulty sleeping, was found to have severe decay of his two upper front teeth. As the dentist gathered the child's medical history, the father revealed that his son experienced severe nosebleeds several times a day. When asked if the child had been seen by his medical provider, the father said they didn't have a provider because he was currently unemployed and could not afford medical insurance.

The dentist was able to take care of the child's oral health needs, then make sure he was seen that same day at the adjacent High Point Medical Clinic. The boy's four-year old brother was also seen for a well child examination and the family was enrolled in a health insurance plan.