Low-income Americans — more than 74 million of whom are served by Medicaid — face elevated risks for oral disease, including a daunting set of obstacles to oral health care. In most states, Medicaid programs and public health departments share responsibility for addressing the oral health needs of low-income residents, yet each entity typically has its own dental director — often operating in silos. To achieve broad and optimal improvements in oral health, Medicaid dental program directors and state oral health program directors need to work together to transform the oral health care system.

The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) created the State Oral Health Leadership Institute (SOHLI) to bring together state Medicaid dental program directors and state oral health program directors to advance shared goals. This professional development program provided these individuals — working in collaboration — with the necessary leadership skills and policy knowledge to improve access to dental services and oral health outcomes for low-income children and adults.

SOHLI provided leadership training to teams of state Medicaid dental program directors and state oral health program directors in eight states and the District of Columbia. View participating states and team members by selecting a cohort below:

Cohort 2 (October 2017 - July 2018)

Louisiana

Brandon Bueche, Medicaid Dental Program Director, Louisiana Department of Health

MeChaune Butler, Oral Health Program Manager, Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health

Minnesota

Linda Maytan, DDS, Dental Policy Director, Minnesota Department of Human Services

Prasida Khanal, State Oral Health Director, Minnesota Department of Health

Nevada

Antonina Capurro, DMD, Nevada State Dental Health Officer, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services

Jack Zenteno, Chief, Children’s Services, Nevada Division of Health Care Financing and Policy

Rhode Island

Samuel Zwetchkenbaum, DDS, Dental Director, Rhode Island Department of Health, and Executive Office of Health and Human Services

Sadie DeCourcy, Program Manager, Oral Health Program, Rhode Island Department of Health

Cohort 1 (January 2017 - December 2017)

Missouri

John Dane, DDS, FAAHD, DABSCD, State Dental Director, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services

Timothy Kling, MD, FACOG, Associate Medical Director, Missouri Department of Social Services

North Carolina

Mark W. Casey, DDS, MPH, Dental Director, Department of Health and Human Services

Sarah Tomlinson, DDS, Dental Director and Chief, Department of Health and Human Services

North Dakota

Jodi Hulm, Administrator, Health Tracks and Healthy Steps, Department of Human Services

Kimberlie Yineman, Oral Health Program Director, Department of Health

Oregon

Bruce W. Austin, DMD, Statewide Dental Director, Oregon Health Authority

Kellie M. Skenandore, Dental Program Manager, Operations and Policy Analyst-Medicaid Managed Care, Oregon Health Authority

Washington, D.C.

Pierre M. Cartier, DMD, MPH, Program Manager, DC Dept. of Health, Oral Health Program (Jan.–Jun. 2017)

Lauren Ratner, MPH, MSW, Health Care Access Bureau Chief, Community Health Administration, DC Dept. of Health (Jul.–Dec. 2017)

Antonio Lacey, DDS, Program Analyst, District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance

SOHLI teams participated in a program curriculum addressing oral health policy at both the federal and state levels with a focus on:

  • Fundamentals of Medicaid dental benefit design, financing, and service delivery models; funding models for public health strategies related to oral health improvement; and approaches to address the social determinants of oral health.
  • Leadership and organizational skills necessary to lead complex change within the context of state governments.
  • A joint transformation project, providing a foundation for participants to apply newly acquired leadership and policy skills to improve the oral health of residents.

A national advisory group — including leadership from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors — provided additional guidance throughout the program.

SOHLI was a part of CHCS’ leadership and capacity building programs, a unique series of professional development programs supporting state Medicaid directors and their management teams in optimizing the performance of publicly financed care.