The Jefferson County Public Hospital District quietly marked a milestone over the summer, as it became home to the first rural dental health clinic in Washington state.

“Jefferson Healthcare is the first in the state to set up a dental clinic as a rural health clinic, and be able to serve the Medicaid population,” said Amy Yaley, director of marketing and communications for Jefferson Healthcare, the hospital operated by the district. “We are filling a much-needed gap in the system. Prior to this clinic, uninsured and under-insured patients would have to leave the county for dental care, or wait for the SmileMobile, but now, we can take care of them right here.”

The clinic is co-located in the Sheridan Medical Office Building, which currently houses Jefferson Healthcare’s primary care and behavioral health.

The clinic offers patients dental services, integrated with other aspects of health care, through hygiene appointments which include comprehensive oral and periodontal exams, X-rays and cavity fills.

According to Yaley, the clinic’s primary goal is to serve children and adults on Medicaid and Washington State Apple Health, a population that she pointed out “often has a difficult time finding local, convenient” dental care.

The new clinic aims to fill that gap, by serving what Yaley estimated would be roughly 3,000 children and adults annually in its six-chair office.

Yaley elaborated that integrating dental services into primary care clinics operating as rural health clinics is a way to leverage the recent changes to the Washington state Medicaid program, which now allows rural health clinics to bill an encounter rate, rather than a fee-for-service rate, for dental services.

Jenn Wharton, chief ambulatory and medical group officer for Jefferson Healthcare, hopes the changes to state Medicaid will allow the clinic to provide dental care to “the most vulnerable in the community,” so those patients won’t be forced to delay such care until it requires them to go to the emergency department.

“The integration of our new dental clinic with primary care and behavioral health utilizes a whole-person care concept,” said Dr. William Catelli, dental director for Jefferson Healthcare. “Our staff is ready to serve the needs of our community, focus on prevention and lifestyle, and offer compassionate care to all of our dental patients.”

While some Medicare advantage plans offer extra benefits that original Medicare doesn’t cover, such as vision, hearing or dental, Medicare does not cover most dental care, and the majority of dentists in the state are unable to accept Medicaid insurance.

Jefferson Healthcare received $1 million in state capital funding to start the pilot program, but is continuing to seek out sources for additional funding for equipment, from grant requests.

Yaley reported that Jefferson County has one of the lowest utilization rates for dental care services for Medicaid-eligible clients in Washington state, having ranked 39 out of 39 counties for five years.

In 2017, Jefferson County moved up to third-last.

Since the expansion of Medicaid, there are almost 9,000 Jefferson County residents, including 2,400 children, who are eligible for Washington State Apple Health, but of those, only 21% receive dental care.

Outside of the rural health clinic, Jefferson County has no dentists who see adults with Medicaid.

“The new dental clinic allows access to affordable dental care (that’s) otherwise unavailable in small communities,” Dr. Pavel Vasilyuk said.

Yaley anticipates the avoidance of “expensive and unnecessary” emergency department visits, as well as the fostering of better oral health care for patients with chronic diseases, will ultimately yield “better outcomes at lower costs” to patients.

“A reduction in absenteeism at school and work, due to dental pain, can be expected, Yaley said. “This will add several skilled jobs to the community.”

Appointments can be scheduled with the clinic by calling 360-344-1005.

For community members seeking more information about financial options for health care, please contact the financial counselors at Jefferson Healthcare at 360-385-2200, ext. 2267.