Center for Primary Care & Prevention

 

Oral Health
The Florida Public Health Institute, in collaboration with the DentaQuest Foundation (Boston) and the FrameWorks Institute (Washington, DC), is supporting statewide oral health communications efforts that currently include Hillsborough, Duval, Alachua, Broward, and Palm Beach County Oral Health Coalitions. The goal of these efforts is to build an informed and mobilized network empowered to promote sustainable and systemic solutions while reducing oral health disparities.

FPHI brings leadership to this initiative recognized statewide and is the administrative home for the Florida Oral Health Coalition. FPHI is a member of the Florida Oral Health Workforce Group established in 2008 under the Florida Department of Health’s Public Health Dental Program. The Institute is charged with leading targeted education and prevention efforts and workforce policy initiatives. In addition to statewide experience, FPHI currently facilitates the Palm Beach County Oral Health Coalition whose mission is to “improve the oral health of all residents in Palm Beach County in order to improve overall health.” FPHI continues to develop a comprehensive, coordinated campaign involving a statewide communications workgroup to build a broad constituency equipped to engage in a consistent strategy addressing the issue of oral health.  

In addition, FPHI is currently working with the Children’s Dental Health Project on an online resource for policy makers, advocates and parents in Florida that identifies new oral health care policies.  This resource identifies improvements of Floridian’s access to dental care, with a particular focus on low-income children and families covered by CHIP and Medicaid.

 

Community Health NETwork
Under FPHI’s leadership, the innovative Community Health NETwork continues to work toward creating a coordinated and comprehensive system of care in Palm Beach County. Participation in the Community Health NETwork has expanded beyond the health care safety-net to include the medical society, local hospitals, and other important community providers. FPHI continues to promote cooperation among safety-net providers to identify gaps in health care access and opportunities for resource sharing and coordination. It remains a source for research, analysis, design and implementation of health care services to the uninsured and underinsured residents of Palm Beach County.

With the providers’ input, the Community Health NETwork began mapping the location of each health clinic and medical practice serving the uninsured, underinsured and Medicaid population. As participation in the NETwork has grown beyond agencies traditionally associated with health services, mapping capabilities have expanded to include other vital services contributing to the community’s overall health. The NETwork currently is building an on-line portal containing an interactive version of the map with links to community resources and information.

 

Assessment and Technical Assistance
FPHI continues to provide technical assistance. In 2010, FPHI provided a Community Needs Assessment for an area in Palm Beach County with an increasing number of medically underserved. FPHI then worked with the Florida Department of Health to secure a Medically Underserved Population (MUP) federal designation for this area which consequently made it eligible for federal health care funding.

In 2010, FPHI helped a community health center qualify for federal funding by providing assistance with the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) application process. The health center was granted FQHC Look Alike status and is now the only center of its kind in Palm Beach County.