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25 • establishing a dental clinic at Quinsiga- mond Community College; • expanding dental services at Family Health Center and Great Brook Valley Health Center; • establishing a KidsSeal program and Care Mobile program in the Worcester and Webster public schools; • creating a post-doctoral one-year Gener- al Practice Residency in Dental Medi- cine at UMass Medical School (with the expectation that it would close as the area community health centers devel- oped dental residency programs); • returning oral surgery services to what was then Hahnemann Hospital; • creating educational materials for physicians on urgent and emerging oral health issues for adults; and • advocating for a MassHealth caseload cap. Most importantly, e Health Founda- tion was instrumental in advocating for policy changes to MassHealth. At the time, private dentists who accepted MassHealth could not set caseload caps, which resulted in many dentists deciding not to accept MassHealth because of the lower reim- bursement rates. Caseload capacity was approved as part of the FY 2006 state budget. Extending coverage to pregnant women and moth- ers with children up to age three was also approved. rough the state's new health care reform bill, dental services were rein- stated for all MassHealth patients on July 1, 2006. By the end of the grant, nearly 200 dentists in Central Massachusetts were accepting MassHealth patients. Founding Board Chair Dr. Wayne Gla- zier noted that addressing this issue pro- vided "a window into other health issues." He said, "If you attack dental health, you can help prevent a lot of other diseases." Dr. Gusha credited e Health Foun- dation for its financial and moral support throughout the initiative. Two months aer CMOHI submitted its proposal, the Joint Coalition on Health of North Central Massachusetts along with the Gardner Area Interagency Team and the Fitchburg/Gardner Area Community Health Network Area submitted a similar proposal to improve oral health and access to dental services in the north central region. While residents in the city of Worcester would have access to services through CMOHI, those residing in the north central region lacked services and dentists. As a result, the Oral Health Initiative of North Central Massachusetts (OHINCM) Dr. John Gusha ORAL HEALTH INITIATIVE OF NORTH CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS Timeframe: 2001 – 2008 Lead Organization: Joint Coalition on Health of North Central Massachusetts Evaluator: Boston University School of Public Health Total Amount Funded: $2.2 million "This program would never have gotten off the ground without The Health Foundation. They have connections and a strong will to succeed." Dr. John Gusha project director, CMOHI Something to SMILE about After federal court order, 150 dentists now treat children in poor families Shown in his dental office, Dr. George E. Maloney, president of the Worcester District Dental Society, said increased reimbursements for children, a cap on the number of MassHealth patients and reliability of payment from the state are attracting more dentists to the program. July 30, 2008 By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF Imagine a young child going to school day after day and trying to concentrate with a throbbing toothache caused by a neglected cavity. Until the last two years, about 75 percent of the estimated 500,000 children income families in Massachusetts