Title
Approve permanent staffing table adjustment for the Sedgwick County Health Department Children's Dental Clinic Program.
Body
Recommended Action: Approve the change request to the Health Department staffing table for Position #20002625.
Background:
The Health Department's Children's Dental Clinic Program provides free dental services for uninsured children ages 5-15 that reside in Sedgwick County and meet eligibility requirements. Kansas law requires public schools perform free dental screenings annually for their students; the majority of the screenings completed in Sedgwick County schools are performed by the Children's Dental Clinic. The hygienists also provide brief oral health education with each student after they have completed each individual screening.
The Dental Clinic works closely with school nurses, within the Wichita and the Sedgwick County school district, who refer children to the Dental Clinic for oral health care services. As of May 31st, 2014 the Dental Clinic has completed 6,654 oral health screenings compared to 3,730 screenings completed in 2013 for the same time period (January 1st through - May 31st); an increase of 2,924 or (178.4%).
The Dental Clinic anticipates an increase in clinic patients, as well. This increase will be due to a combination of community collaborations and implementation of a new marketing project designed to increase awareness of our services.
The Health Department is currently developing a pre-natal oral health education program for low-income pre-natal women/families living in the community. This new program will focus on the effects of gum disease, in an attempt to decrease pre-term, low birth weight babies, which is an area the Health Department scored low in, according to the '2104 County Health Rankings', a national project of the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published on March 27, 2014.
The current staff in...
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