Title
FY 2022 Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation and Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation - Grant Approval - $200,000.00 - Zun
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Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center (LCHD/CHC) applied for $200,000.00 in funding, as approved by the Governing Council on August 10, 2021, through the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) and Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation (DDILF). The grant funding was awarded to LCHD/CHC on October 4, 2021. The purpose of this funding is to increase children’s utilization of quality, comprehensive oral health services in communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic and poverty. Funding is designed to increase the utilization of these services in high-risk and underserved communities, with a focus on communities of color and impoverished communities across the State. The grant period is two years, January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2023, and it is estimated the grant will generate an additional $53,919.00 in program income.
The American Dental Association (ADA) identified that many persons in underserved areas suffer from untreated disease, and many more are at risk of disease, often because they do not have access to preventative dental health care and education. This grant will address this deficiency. Grant funding would be used to provide oral health education and connection to dental services and other needed social and economic resources to the underserved pediatric patients in Lake County most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We plan to utilize the ADA model of community outreach using trained Community Health Workers (CHW) and Case Managers supervised by a dental hygienist. Success will be measured by the number of pediatric patients who obtain dental care and are connected to other needed social and economic resources, and the overall dental health in our community.
Staff will be trained in oral health and will provide this service in the community. LCHD/CHC would train an estimated 37 CHW and Case Managers to become Dental Health Ambassadors. In addition, a full-time dental hygienist will be hired to serve as the Community Health Dental Coordinator and be the subject matter expert for the CHW for dental education. The goal of the program is to provide outreach and education to approximately 7,700 underserved children in Lake County and to refer approximately 350 pediatric patients to dental services per year. The proposed project will be accessible to all children residing in Lake County.
The team that developed the program proposal in response to the Notice of Funding Opportunity by ILCHF and DDILF was Kim Burke, Les Zun, MD, Pam Riley, Omar Cockey, DDS, and Diane Pelli.
Suggested Motion
To approve the grant funding of $200,000.00 from the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation and Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation and the additional $53,919 in program income.