Collaboration and Service Improvement:

• Expand access to free healthcare services with the new Good Neighbor Health Clinic in Lebanon, NH. 

• Increase workforce development opportunities for early career Dental Assistants with training programs at HACTC and preceptorships with local dental practices.

• Facilitate a process to improve navigation of health insurance options, social service programs, and other resources available to people in need to identify and close gaps. Implement or create a tool to increase access to information and increase coordination among providers. 

• To increase the connection of individuals aged 50+ to needed resources in the region. 

Education:

• Engage Town Welfare Officers in discussion around the importance of addressing health care costs and referral for support during bi-annual meetings facilitated by the PHC.

Advocacy: 

• Host Bi-State Legislative Breakfast every two years to engage state policymakers in discussion of local health priorities.

• Promote the value of Community Paramedicine Programs and advocate for insurance reimbursement for these community-based services. 

• Promote alternative approaches to fund health and dental care for un- and under-insured people. 

Equity:

• Offer free flu vaccine clinics and COVID-19 vaccine clinics in community settings to reduce barriers to receiving vaccines. 

• Offer free dental services in school-based dental clinics. 

• Conduct a systematic review of health care and behavioral healthcare access in the Upper Valley from the perspective of traditionally marginalized groups and their overall well-being. 

• Increase capacity of grassroots and small organizations representing people with lived experience of health inequities to address the concerns of their communities independently through grantmaking and technical assistance.

Hospitals usually lack a dentist on-site, so patients who enter the emergency room with dental concerns are given antibiotics or pain medication and told to contact their dentist. This system is designed for severe, urgent dental conditions like jaw injury or oral infection. According to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, most oral diseases tend to worsen over time without intervention. Many dental conditions are best managed by routine dental care. Educating the public about maintaining proper dental hygiene while reducing cost and availability barriers to dental care is crucial to reducing the number of patients seeking emergency dental care for non-traumatic conditions.

• Good Neighbor Health Clinic (GNHC)
• Dartmouth Hitchcock (DH)
• Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD)
• Hartford Area Career and Technology Center (HACTC)
• Public Health Council (PHC)
• Service Link
• Area Council on Aging Partners
• Upper Valley Service Coordinators Roundtable
• Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC)
• Red Logan Dental Clinic (RLDC)
• Upper Valley Regional Public Health Network (UVRPHN)
• Vermont Department of Health/ White River Junction District Office (VDH/WRJ)
• HealthHub
• Upper Valley Community Health Equity Partnership (UVCHEP) Steering Committee

Data Overview: The Uniform Hospital Discharge Dataset is a national program that provides anonymized hospital admission data showing factors like diagnosis, procedures performed, geographic area, race, and ethnicity.

Limitations: Patients may return to the emergency room multiple times for the same condition, resulting in an inflation of emergency room intake data. Due to lapses in communication between states, this estimate may neglect data for some Vermont residents whose closest hospitals are in neighboring states. In 2015, the Uniform Hospital Discharge dataset switched from using ICD-9 to ICD-10 code sets. The coding transition's impact on data collection is unknown.