The nice thing about developing an awesome plan? Implementation.
That’s because a truly awesome plan is usually well on its way to being implemented by the time it gets approved. That is certainly the case with a Virginia Oral Health Coalition project we’ve been supporting.
Designed to dramatically increase medical/dental collaboration across the state, the project has brought dozens of medical and dental providers (and educators, insurance providers, policymakers and more) to the same table to discuss a simple challenge: Helping health providers of all stripes treat their patients from their teeth to their toes.
This past year, we facilitated the awesome work of VOHC’s Sarah Bedard Holland and Katherine Libby as they convened groups and hammered out an aggressive plan to change the way Virginia schools teach oral health, the increase continuing education opportunities for established health professionals, to bolster early childhood dental care and to improve the use of technology solutions to simplify care.
In August, they submitted the plan to the DentaQuest Foundation for implementation funding. In September, funding was approved.
When we reconvened the project team earlier in November to discuss implementation, we were all delighted (but not so surprised) to discover that significant chunks of the plan were already moving forward. As we move into 2013, Floricane’s work will be fairly straightforward as we help keep a focused team focused, and guide from the side as a group of experts go about the business of changing the health care landscape.
It’s work we can sink our teeth into. Pun intended.