By HCF Blog Team on September 10, 2015
In 2015, HCF is celebrating 10 Years of Grantmaking. But we are nothing without the organizations that work every day on eliminating barriers to quality health in our community. To mark this milestone, we are launching a special series — A Healthy 10. Each month we’ll highlight one of 10 areas of health that saw […]
Saving Smiles is a preventative program to reduce the amount of tooth decay in the children of Lafayette County Missouri. It is a Missouri Oral Health Preventative Services Program, which is a community–based approach to prevention of oral disease. The Saving Smiles program is organized by personnel at Lafayette County Health Department with the support […]
We know how important early years are for getting children off to a healthy start. These years set the stage for healthy habits to last throughout one’s life. Raising healthy children sounds pretty simple: brushing teeth, developing healthy relationships, practicing good nutrition and encouraging 60 minutes of physical activity a day. Instilling these life-long habits […]
By Michael McCunniff, DDS on November 6, 2014
Dental Public Health Department Chair, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry
The national trend for patients who have dental pain and lack a primary care dentist is to access Emergency Departments (ED) for treatment for their oral health issue. Missouri and the Kansas City metro area Emergency Departments exhibit similar data. The major concern with this care delivery model is that the majority of EDs do […]
While also the name of a hit pop song, blurred lines is an apt summary of the recommendations stemming from HCF’s recently released oral health assessment. Oral health has traditionally been siloed apart from physical health and, unfortunately this separation has greatly impacted the cost, quality and access to oral health services. As changes in […]
By Allyson Scherb Auerbach, MPH on February 11, 2014
Community Health Associate, Health Resources in Action
“I had better dental care when I was in prison. When you come in, they give you an examination and they say that the tooth might need to be pulled. And then they can see if they can save it and they will work to try to save the tooth.” Recently, we were given the […]
By Lisa Wolff, ScD on February 11, 2014
Director of Research and Evaluation, Health Resources in Action
“I had better dental care when I was in prison. When you come in, they give you an examination and they say that the tooth might need to be pulled. And then they can see if they can save it and they will work to try to save the tooth.” Recently, we were given the […]
When President Theodore Roosevelt coined the term, he was thinking more about busting trusts than preventing cavities. But the phrase “bully pulpit” works in the context of dental care, too, at least when it comes to a state’s role in protecting the mouths of its citizens. A state dental director can evangelize — both inside […]
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, and we can’t think of a better time to discuss next week’s Oral Health Caucus in Missouri, ranked one of the worst states for access to oral health care. Gary Harbison examines the cause of the Caucus and some possible outcomes for Missouri. By Gary Harbison, Executive Director, […]
By Jessica Hembree on February 23, 2012
Program Officer, Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City
I was an hour into my volunteer experience at the Kansas Mission of Mercy, a free two-day dental clinic, when I walked a 50-something gentlemen from the post-operative recovery “room” to the pharmacy. I made the horrible, first-timer mistake of trying to talk to someone who has a mouth full of gauze. But, somewhere between […]
HCF's Local Health Buzz Blog aims to discuss health and health policy issues that impact the uninsured and underserved in our service area. To submit a blog, please contact HCF Communications Officers, Jennifer Sykes, at .
