WHEREAS, the State needs to improve oral health care, which can result in improved health care and reduced health care costs to the State; and

WHEREAS, the State lacks a comprehensive oral health care program; and

WHEREAS, elements of a comprehensive program include research, investigation, demonstration, public education, training, statistical assessment, analysis of social determinants, consensus building, peer review, gap analysis, and strategic planning; and

WHEREAS, the State has begun to leverage a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) oral health disease prevention program that has provided limited results, including data surveillance, updated data gap assessment, a third grade oral health survey on the use of sealants, establishment of an oral health care advisory group, initial collaboration on other CDC dental initiatives with community stakeholders, and continued recruitment of a state dental director funded by the CDC grant; and

WHEREAS, while the CDC grant does provide useful assistance to the State's oral health assessment and profile, its limited focus does not provide sufficient funding to adequately assess oral health; and

WHEREAS, the CDC grant does not provide sufficient public or private sector matching funds for the comprehensive approach to oral health that the State urgently needs if it is to adequately address the needs of its citizens, including all children, vulnerable populations, and the traditionally underserved; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the Department of Health is requested to review and analyze all oral health initiatives currently underway in the State, including the CDC program, and prepare a progress report on each initiative; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to report on the progress the Department has made in the development of a comprehensive state oral health assessment; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the oral health assessment include the following activities:

(1) Conduct research, investigations, experiments, demonstrations, and studies relating to the incidence, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of dental diseases;

(2) Supervise, provide, and direct clinical dental health services for adults and children in the State;

(3) Develop and conduct a program of dental health education of the public;

(4) Provide information and education relating to dental health to public health nurses, teachers, social workers, and others who deal in a professional capacity with the public through publications, seminars, institutes, and other appropriate means;

(5) Provide training for professional personnel to staff state and local dental health programs;

(6) Develop a comprehensive assessment of the State's dental health status, including the capacity of existing public and private infrastructure and health care workforce; high performance computing and statistical and geospatial analysis in order to assess gaps between access to dental health care needs and existing resources; identification and analysis of social determinants of dental health status of vulnerable populations; assurance that the community representative sample will accurately determine dental health status of vulnerable populations; access to health care data, including dental care workforce type, language, ethnicity, geographical distribution, and participation in public programs; and assessment of potential economic impact;

(7) Develop and disseminate an assessment of its findings at a large public convening with participation of national experts to showcase existing innovative cost-saving models being adopted in other parts of the country; and

(8) Develop a comprehensive consensus building process with diverse stakeholders to formulate public policy recommendations that ensure an inter-professional approach and a broad representation and participation of consumers, health care professionals, and dental health community; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to provide a comprehensive accounting of all the public and private sector matching funds the State has received in the oral health area as a result of the CDC grant or any other municipal state, federal, or private sector oral health program, grant, or other funding source; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to report its findings and recommendations, including the current status of the oral health assessment, recommendations for comprehensive oral health policy initiatives, and funding recommendations, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the Regular Session of 2016; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Oral Health Initiatives; Department of Health

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	95
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII