By David Toland on September 19, 2017
Executive Director
Thrive Allen County
It is with tremendous excitement that we announce that our home — Allen County, Kansas — has been named as a 2017 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize winner. The Prize honors communities for their unwavering efforts to ensure all residents have the opportunity to live healthier lives. And that certainly describes what […]
By Gary Harbison on May 25, 2017
Executive Director
Missouri Coalition for Oral Health
We live in a time when technological changes are common. These changes induce both anticipation and anxiety. Rapidly changing use of technology is also a constant in our complex health care system. While we have seen increasing use of health care assisted by remote access to health specialists and increasing coordination between health providers over […]
By Paul Roberts on August 3, 2016
Foundation and Outreach Director
Missouri Dental Association
The Missouri Mission of Mercy (MOMOM) is more than a free dental clinic. It’s tangible help. It’s giving at its best. That is why I love working on this grand scale inspirational project. Collectively we accomplish something together that we could never do alone. MOMOM is an intersection of three communities. Allow me to unpack […]
By Gary Harbison on February 19, 2016
Executive Director
Missouri Coalition for Oral Health
Missouri is experiencing a renaissance in attention to oral health policy. Champions in the state legislature are working to ensure oral health policy is a relevant topic through legislation and through the oral health caucus. The Coalition’s annual oral health policy conference brings fresh innovation to the dialog inside and outside of the statewide network […]
By Health Forward Blog Team on February 5, 2016
In addition to new general service clinics, the area also has benefited from an expansion in dental care access for special needs and elderly populations. Oral Health on Wheels, a 40-foot mobile dental clinic operated by Johnson County Community College, provides professional dental cleaning and other maintenance services to special needs populations. A dental services […]
By Gary Harbison on January 7, 2016
Executive Director
Missouri Coalition for Oral Health
On Tuesday of this week, Governor Jay Nixon made an announcement that oral health advocates, dental providers and – most importantly – adults currently eligible for MO HealthNet (Missouri Medicaid) have longed to hear: Missouri will provide MO HealthNet adult dental benefits. Now we must wait up to 90 days for the Centers for Medicare and […]
By Jane Mosley, PhD on December 23, 2015
Program and Evaluation Officer
Health Forward Foundation
For the past 18 months, Health Forward has been working on a project that examined how we’ve advanced health in our region over the past 10 years. The fruits of that labor is featured on our new website – Health ForwardDecadeofDifference.org. While most of the report focuses on changes that have occurred, we also heard […]
By Krista Postai on December 18, 2015
CEO & President
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas
Just over 100 miles southwest of Kansas City, there is a county of just over 13,000 residents that has created a model for community health improvement. A county that admitted collectively that it needed to improve health outcomes. A county that was willing to ask for help. A county that rolled up its sleeves (and […]
By Health Forward Blog Team on October 14, 2015
Ed. Note: This is a modified excerpt from our Decade of Difference report. Read more about the region’s health care workforce in our full report. Important developments throughout the dental workforce have played an essential role in supporting the expansion of the area’s oral health safety capacity. Increasingly, dental schools are reaching out to engage students […]
By Health Forward Blog Team on October 6, 2015
Ed. Note: This is a modified excerpt from our Decade of Difference report. Read more about the region’s oral health evolution in our full report. Increased oral care capacity, improved collaboration among safety net providers and a growing awareness of the relationship between oral and general health all have helped push oral health care nearer […]
