In this episode, we venture to Pennsylvania’s Coal Region to learn how some health systems are working to expand access to dental care and improve oral health for children in underserved areas. The shortage of pediatric dentists has underscored the need for preventative care since long before the pandemic exacerbated it. 

We’ll hear from nurses and dentists delivering care in rural counties, as well as advocates working on the issue across Pennsylvania. 

Family nurse practitioner Tammy Lobach shares the challenges faced by her patients. Most of them rely on Medicaid or state insurance for medical coverage, but relatively few dental practices accept public insurance. Internet accessibility is another hurdle. 

Kelly Braun is a dental hygienist and the dental delivery systems coordinator for the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health, where she manages trainings for primary care providers and other initiatives to improve dental health. She also oversaw the Medical Oral Expanded Care initiative (MORE Care) to train nurses and other primary care providers in preventative dental care. Launched by the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement, MORE Care programs have been implemented in rural Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, and Oregon during the past several years. 

Jessica Brennan, a public health dental hygiene practitioner, and Dr. Soumaya Bendjilali, are part-time specialists at the St. Luke’s Miners Hometown Federal Rural Health Clinic in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. They relate their experiences working at the clinic’s relatively new dental office, which opened in 2019. 
Helen Hawkey is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health. She explains how the coalition’s mission expanded from increasing access to fluoridated water to working with a diverse group of leaders on multiple initiatives to improve oral health across the state. 

A statewide coalition has documented successes in recent years in provider recruitment, running mobile clinics, school-based sealant programs, expanding dental screenings in primary care settings and more. 
With COVID-19 compounding the shortage of dentists, those solutions have taken on more significance but might not be enough to head off the crisis some say could lie ahead. 

Our producer Emily Previti recently talked to providers about how they’re navigating obstacles from transportation to water supply and food insecurity to cultural norms to broadband availability.

Pennsylvania’s Dental Deserts: Preventative Oral Healthcare in the Coal Region

Why is tying a medical provider’s pay to the outcomes of their patients a bad idea? Why else should we be concerned about Accountable Care Organizations and the privatization of traditional Medicare? 

To find out, we spoke to Dr. Ana Malinow,  who spent three decades working as a pediatrician with immigrant, refugee and underserved children before retiring as Clinical Professor of Pediatrics from the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. She’s past president of Physicians for a National Health Program and is currently a lead organizer for National Single Payer and The Movement to End Privatization of Medicare.  This is the second episode in a two-part series with Dr. Malinow.

New from Code WACK,How Medicare ACOs restrict care and offer dangerous incentives

The COVID pandemic devastated nursing homes and other long-term care facilities highlighting the need for major reforms. What are the policies behind the often dismal performance of the nursing home industry? What policy changes have been made so far and why are nursing home residents still so vulnerable? 

To find out, we spoke to Tony Chicotel, senior staff attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, or CANHR, where he promotes the rights of residents in long-term care facilities through litigation, legislation, regulatory policy, and consumer education.

New from Code WACK,' How U.S. nursing homes are failing us.

This time on Code WACK! Are regulations meant to protect nursing home residents being enforced? How is understaffing at the California Dept of Public Health affecting nursing home regulation?  Are for-profit and nonprofit nursing homes comparable when it comes to the quality of care residents receive? What reforms are in the works to better protect residents?

To find out, we spoke to Tony Chicotel, senior staff attorney at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, or CANHR, where he promotes the rights of residents in long-term care facilities through litigation, legislation, regulatory policy, and consumer education.

New from Code WACK, What's fueling America's dreadful nursing home care?

This time on Code WACK! 

Where are we today when it comes to reproductive rights in America? And what does the latest IVF case in Alabama mean for reproductive justice and healthcare equity in America? 

To find out, we spoke to Vina Smith-Ramakrishnan, a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she works on issues related to maternal health and reproductive rights and justice. Vina’s work supports The Century Foundation’s efforts to eliminate racial and gender disparities in health outcomes. Vina has a master’s of public health in global health policy from George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.

New from Code WACK, Is 'fetal personhood' coming to your state?

This time on Code WACK! 

Besides the Alabama IVF decision, how else are reproductive rights being rolled back in America? Why are some states going after emergency contraception known as the morning-after pill? What policy solutions are needed to better protect reproductive rights?

To find out, we spoke to Vina Smith-Ramakrishnan, a fellow at The Century Foundation, where she works on issues related to maternal health and reproductive rights and justice. Vina’s work supports The Century Foundation’s efforts to eliminate racial and gender disparities in health outcomes. Vina has a master’s of public health in global health policy from George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.

New from Code WACK, Forced pregnancies and racial bias: A deadly combination?

This time on Code WACK! 

Once again, a new single-payer bill, AB 2200 or CalCare, sponsored by the California Nurses Association, has been introduced in the California state legislature. How will it help save lives? Will it break the bank, or will it save us money? What’s different about this version of the bill and what kind of support does it have in the state legislature? 

To find out, we spoke to Assemblyman Ash Kalra. As a longstanding champion of single-payer health care, Assemblymember Kalra introduced statewide legislation known as CalCare (AB 1400 in 2021 and AB 2200 in 2023), which would guarantee comprehensive, high-quality health care for all Californians as a human right. This is the first episode in a two-part series.

New from Code WACK, How California’s latest single-payer bill would revolutionize health care

This time on Code WACK! 
Will California’s new single payer bill, CalCare, be a tough sell for the state’s legislature, even if most of the state’s residents want Medicare for All?  What political hurdles must be cleared before such a bill would pass? And what would it mean for single payer efforts if Donald Trump is re-elected president this year?

To find out, we spoke to Assemblymember Ash Kalra. As a longstanding champion of single-payer health care, Assemblymember Kalra introduced statewide legislation known as CalCare (AB 1400 in 2021 and AB 2200 in 2023), which would guarantee comprehensive, high-quality health care for all Californians as a human right. This is the second episode in a two-part series.

New from Code WACK, What's at stake in 2024? Your health care..

This time on Code WACK! 

What the heck is going on with Medicare for All in California? Can single-payer advocates overcome their differences and finally win health care for all in the Golden State? What’s the significance of two recent bills, Senate Bill 770, and Assembly Bill 2200, in achieving Medicare for All in California? 

To find out, we spoke to Dr. James G. Kahn, an expert in health policy and economics, an advisor to Code WACK! and editor and primary blogger of Health Justice Monitor, a health policy blog.

This is the first episode in a two-part series.

New from Code WACK, Simplicity, savings & equity? The single-payer solution

This time on Code WACK! 
How would single-payer, Medicare for All affect the experience of getting care? Would it make it easier to find and see a primary care doctor? And just as importantly, how much money could individuals and families save under a state or national single-payer system?

See how much you would save with the new, national Medicare for All Household Savings Calculator!

Join us as we chat with Dr. James G. Kahn, who led the calculator team. He's an expert in health policy and economics, an advisor to Code WACK! and editor and primary blogger of Health Justice Monitor, a health policy blog.

This is the second episode in a two part series with Dr. Kahn.

New from Code WACK,The single-payer quandary: What would you do with an extra $5,000 a year?

This time on Code WACK! 

How is private equity affecting our healthcare system? What’s being done about it? How does our fragmented healthcare system affect patients, including people who have cancer? And what cues can healthcare reform activists take from California's immigrant community?

To find out, we spoke to Peter Shapiro, a retired letter carrier and author of Song of the Stubborn One Thousand: the Watsonville Canning Strike (Haymarket Books 2016). He represented his union at the founding conference of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer in 2009 and has been involved with the issue ever since. He currently represents the Alameda Labor Council on the board of Healthy California Now, a single-payer advocacy coalition. This is the first episode in a two-part series with Peter Shapiro.

New from Code WACK,'Absolutely ruthless': the brutal privatization of U.S. health care

At the Core of Care shares the incredible stories of nurses in Pennsylvania and the people that they help. Learn about innovative ways that nurses are making a difference in so many lives every day. This podcast was created by the Pennsylvania Action Coalition.

Pennsylvania’s Dental Deserts: Preventative Oral Healthcare in the Coal Region

At the Core of Care

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