Community Benefits and Foundation Grants Awarded

Delta Dental of Minnesota and Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation Award 22 Grants Totaling Nearly $550,000

Minneapolis, Minn. (April 28, 2015) – Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation and Delta Dental Community Benefit awarded 22 grants totaling $546,000 to programming that supports Delta Dental of Minnesota’s mission of improving health though oral health in Minnesota.

Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation awarded 9 grants totaling $324,000. The invite-only applicants support the causes to help address access in Minnesota through preventive and educational services, workforce strategies and by optimizing the capacity of the safety net oral health system to help the underserved population in Minnesota.

Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation grants included below:

Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute, Workforce Minnesota and Nation-Wide, $30,000 Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute (BHLI): Support for a professional development program designed to expose Minnesota minority college sophomores and juniors who possess exceptional leadership potential to today's challenging healthcare landscape.

Children's Dental Health Project, Minnesota (statewide), $25,000 Sealant Work Group: Support the creation of a work group and their efforts to update guidelines found in the 1994 "Workshop on Guidelines for Sealant Use". The updated guidelines will inform sealant delivery programs throughout Minnesota and the nation. The diversity of Minnesota sealant programs makes it a “mini-learning laboratory” for input to the Work Group about issues faced by programs on the ground. The Minnesota Oral Health Director has agreed to be part of the Work Group.

Metropolitan State University Foundation, Minnesota (statewide), $17,000 Advancing Dental Hygiene Educational Programs: The Essential Role of the Academic Advisor. Hire a dental hygiene academic advisor to assist with the current dual admission process with Normandale College and two new partnerships with Greater Minnesota MnSCU associate degree dental hygiene programs. Students will be better able to navigate these innovative programs and access career laddering opportunities.

Minnesota Community Health Worker Alliance, Minnesota (statewide), $22,000 Oral Health Road Map: Create a plan to integrate community health worker strategies in the oral health field.

Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota (statewide), $100,000 Oral Health Status of Older Adults in Minnesota: Collect and disseminate data to establish statewide baseline estimates of the oral health status of vulnerable older adults through the first ever statewide Basic Screening Survey in Minnesota. The program will employ a dental hygienist to assess older adults in 20 nursing homes, and 10 congregate dining sites.

Mississippi Headwaters Area Dental Health Center, Greater Minnesota –NW- Bemidji, $33,000 Performance Management Capacity Building: Optimize data tracking and measurement in the dental clinic to improve patient care, inform decision making and ensure quality allocation of resources.

Neighborhood HealthSource, Twin Cities Metro, $32,000 Dental Strategic Planning Project: Strategic planning process to lay the groundwork, infrastructure and plan to establish a sliding fee dental clinic at the new Central Clinic facilities in Northeast Minneapolis.

Open Door Health Center, Greater Minnesota-SW-Mankato, $15,000 School Dental Outreach Program in the Greater Mankato Area: Provide preventive oral health care to underserved children through education, oral health screenings and fluoride varnish application, in partnership with the Mankato State University dental hygiene program.

Oral Health America, Minnesota (statewide) $50,000 Tooth Wisdom: Get Smart About Your Mouth. Oral Health America will expand training to reach older adults to Minnesota. Working in partnership with the Minnesota Dental Hygiene Association, they will recruit and train 20 local hygienists to focus on older adults, cultural competency and to understand the theoretical underpinnings of health education.

Delta Dental of Minnesota Community Benefit awarded 13 responsive grants totaling $222,000 to programming that supports the mission of improving health through oral health in Minnesota. Nonprofit organizations were encouraged to apply for grants that support areas of prevention, education, and workforce throughout Minnesota.

Delta Dental of Minnesota Community Benefit grants included:

Bolder Options, Twin Cities Metro $10,000 Youth & Family Oral Health Initiative: Provide activity-based mentoring programs for at-risk youth to raise the participants' awareness that oral health is an essential part of overall health.

Boys & Girls Club of Rochester, Greater Minnesota $12,000 Club Smile: Promote healthy decisions and oral health education through Club Smile dental health program and outreach efforts in the community.

Center for Victims of Torture, Twin Cities Metro $20,000 Delta Dental Fund of the Client Services Program: Provide dental and periodontal care not covered by insurance or Medical Assistance for low-income victims of torture.

CHUM, Greater Minnesota – NE – Duluth $12,000 Improving Access to Dental Care for Low-Income and Recently Homeless Adults: Provide dental care coordination and treatment to low-income and homeless adults.

Community University Health Care Center/Variety Children's Clinic, Twin Cities Metro $50,000 Pediatric Dental Safety Net Services: Support for the Pediatric Dental Program to increase access to preventive dental care and dental treatment for low-income children.

Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, Twin Cities Metro $15,000 Increasing Access to Oral Health Practices for At-Risk Children: Promote the importance of regular, consistent oral health to low income, at-risk children through the overnight residential child care program.

Life House, Inc., Greater Minnesota $5,000 Dental Health Triage Program: Provide crisis response, dental health assessment, referral to local dental health resources, and ongoing follow-up support to homeless youth.

Mental Health Resources, Inc., Twin Cities Metro $25,000 Comprehensive Dental Program: Provide access to best practices in dental care for underserved individuals living with mental illness.

Open Cities Health Center, Twin Cities Metro $30,000 Oral Health-AcessPlus+ Initiative: Hire a Dental Health Navigator to assist in coordinating patient care services, provide patient education and assist oral health patients in enrolling in Open Cities’ health care home known as AccessPlus+.

Red River Valley Dental Access Project, Greater Minnesota –NW- Moorhead $5,000 Part-Time Triage Coordinator: Support for a part-time Triage Coordinator to help ensure quality care and seamless transitions between patients at the urgent care dental clinic.

The Family Partnership, Twin Cities Metro $8,000 Multicultural Therapeutic Preschools: Promote young children's oral health at therapeutic preschools in two inner-city neighborhoods: North Minneapolis and South Minneapolis Phillips neighborhood.

Union Gospel Mission Association of St Paul, Twin Cities Metro $25,000 Dental Services & Oral Health Education Community Outreach Project: Provide expanded oral health education and treatment to children through outreach to preschools and Give Kids a Smile events.

West 7th Community Center, Twin Cities Metro $5,000 Tooth Tutor Expansion: Expand the Tooth Tutor Dental Access program to increase student participation and link children to a dental home.

About the Delta dental of Minnesota Foundation:

Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation supports Delta Dental of Minnesota’s mission of improving the health, through oral health of the people in Minnesota. The Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation supports initiatives that promote access to oral health for the underserved, especially in rural areas and for people living with low incomes across the state.

About Delta Dental of Minnesota:

Delta Dental of Minnesota is an independent, tax-exempt, nonprofit health services company that serves the oral health needs of Minnesota and North Dakota residents. Since 1969, Delta Dental of Minnesota has accomplished this mission by providing the best access across the state to oral health care through affordable dental plans. Delta Dental is an authorized licensee of the Delta Dental Plans Association of Oak Brook, Illinois. To learn more, go to www.deltadentalmn.org.