METRO COMMUNITY PROVIDER NETWORK INC

Agency: United States Department of Health and Human Services
NAICS: 624190 - Other Individual and Family Services
Period start: 2026-09-01
Period end: 2028-08-31
Budget: 1918198.0
Place of performance: WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO, UNITED STATES

Description

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FUND - STRIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER (STRIDE), A 501(C)(3) FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER (FQHC), REQUESTS HRSA QIF-DNDD FUNDING TO IMPLEMENT BRIGHT SMILES FOR METRO DENVER (BRIGHT SMILES), ESTABLISHING A PEDIATRIC DENTAL MEDICAL HOME (PDMH) FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS (NDDS) ACROSS ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES. CHILDREN WITH NDDS FACE A 40% GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF POOR ORAL HEALTH THAN NEUROTYPICAL PEERS, AND LOW-INCOME CHILDREN SEVERELY AFFECTED BY NDDS ARE 13.4 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE COMPLETELY UNMET DENTAL CARE NEEDS. OF STRIDE'S PATIENTS UNDER 21 WITH DIAGNOSED NDDS, ONLY 36.29% HAVE RECEIVED A DENTAL VISIT IN THE PAST YEAR AND JUST 15.27% HAVE AN ESTABLISHED TREATMENT PLAN. STRIDE DIRECTLY SERVED 863 PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH DOCUMENTED NDDS IN 2025, YET SENSORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL BARRIERS, WORKFORCE TRAINING GAPS, AND LIMITED SPECIALIZED INFRASTRUCTURE CONTINUE TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO CARE. TO CLOSE THIS GAP, BRIGHT SMILES WILL FUND A DEDICATED BRIGHT SMILES CARE TEAM (BSCT: A PEDIATRIC DENTIST SERVING AS SPECIAL NEEDS DENTAL CHAMPION, TWO REGISTERED DENTAL HYGIENISTS, TWO DENTAL ASSISTANTS, AND A CARE COORDINATOR. THE BSCT WILL DELIVER EVIDENCE-BASED, TRAUMA-INFORMED CARE THROUGH SENSORY-ADAPTED DENTAL ENVIRONMENTS (SADE) AND DENTAL COMFORT ZONES (DCZ) AT STRIDE'S ONEIDA AND GENEVA HEALTH CENTERS, AND VIA A RETROFITTED MOBILE DENTAL UNIT SERVING CHERRY CREEK SCHOOLS. STRIDE WILL BUILD ON ITS SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL-BASED DENTAL SEALANT PROGRAM (SBSP), WHICH INCREASED PREVENTATIVE DENTAL CARE ENCOUNTERS BY 50%, AND WILL PARTNER WITH EASTERSEALS COLORADO (ESC), CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL COLORADO, AND THE CU ANSCHUTZ SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE TO INFORM WORKFORCE TRAINING AND ENSURE SEAMLESS REFERRAL PATHWAYS FOR ADVANCED CARE. OVER THE TWO-YEAR PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE, BRIGHT SMILES WILL: (1) REACH AT LEAST 20,000 CAREGIVERS AND 60,000 CHILDREN THROUGH TARGETED OUTREACH TO ESTABLISH STRIDE AS A PDMH; (2) INCREASE DENTAL VISITS FOR CHILDREN WITH NDDS BY 200 IN YEAR 1 AND 400 IN YEAR 2, IMPACTING AT LEAST 600 CHILDREN; (3) INCREASE THE PROPORTION OF CHILDREN WITH NDDS RECEIVING PREVENTATIVE DENTAL CARE BY 15%, FOLLOWING THE SBSP MODEL; AND (4) DEVELOP ORGANIZATION-WIDE TRAINING EQUIPPING STRIDE'S INTEGRATED CARE TEAM ACROSS 14 HEALTH CENTERS TO DELIVER DENTAL CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH NDDS USING SBSP, SADE/DCZ, AND PDMH MODELS. STRIDE WILL TRACK PROGRESS USING ITS EPIC EHR SYSTEM, MONITORING THE PROPORTION OF CHILDREN WITH NDDS RECEIVING DENTAL ENCOUNTERS AND ESTABLISHING TREATMENT PLANS, ALONGSIDE ONGOING QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK FROM PATIENTS, CAREGIVERS, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS. AS COLORADO'S LARGEST FQHC, STRIDE IS POSITIONED TO TEST, REFINE, AND SCALE THIS MODEL, ULTIMATELY ENSURING CHILDREN WITH COMPLEX NEURODEVELOPMENTAL NEEDS HAVE A PERMANENT, ACCESSIBLE DENTAL HOME AND IMPROVED LIFELONG ORAL HEALTH OUTCOMES.

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