Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Louise Rogers, Chief, Health System
Srija Srinivasan, Director Family Health Services & Health Coverage Unit
Subject: Agreement with the California Department of Public Health for Oral Health Program
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an agreement with the California Department of Public Health to provide funding for the San Mateo County Oral Health Program for the term of January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2022, in an amount not to exceed $1,156,660.
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BACKGROUND:
Forty percent of 3-years olds in San Mateo County Head Start had untreated dental decay (2013-2015). Children of color have higher levels of decay than white children. Dental problems are the second most common reason for referrals to the Child Health & Disability Prevention program (2014-2015). Many pregnant women and elderly lack dental resources and services. The high need regions in San Mateo County are: Daly City and Brisbane; central San Mateo; East Palo Alto, Redwood City, and east Menlo Park; and Half Moon Bay, El Granada and Miramar on the coast. Only 31 private provider sites out of 885 licensed dentists in the county have actively billed Denti-Cal and only two-thirds of these limited number of providers accept new patients. The prevalence of community members without dental coverage has increased significantly - from 26.6% in 1998 to 32.4% in 2013. Among those without dental insurance, 34.3% report that they or a family member have dental problems that they cannot take care of because of a lack of insurance.
To address these issues, the San Mateo County Oral Health Coalition worked with consultants to develop a local needs assessment and strategic plan between late 2015 and summer 2016. The San Mateo County Oral Health Strategic Plan (2017-2020) was released in October 2016 and addresses five main objectives: 1) to increase access to dental services and...
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