Events

Webinars are at Noon (EST) 

REGISTER HERE (June)

Rural communities continue to experience deficits with access to behavioral and mental health services. With changes brought forth in the CY 2022 Physician
Fee  Schedule, Rural Health Clinics can now provide and receive reimbursement for distant site tele-behavioral health services. This presentation focuses on how to leverage RHCs and their new reimbursement methodology to expand behavioral
health services.

 Ohio Rural Oral Health: Lifespan Challenges and Models of Care
July 16, 2025
Noon
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Accessing dental care in rural communities presents unique challenges. This presentation will highlight these barriers and focus on models of care that are having an impact on improving oral health access and outcomes. 

Objectives:

1. identify and explain the key barriers to accessing dental care in rural communities.
2. Identify at least two successful models or strategies that have improved oral health access and outcomes in rural settings.
3. Analyze success factors of the presented models and their potential for replication in other rural communities.

Speakers:
Homa Amini, DDS, MS, MPH,  Professor-Clinical, Ohio State University College of Dentistry and Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Dr. Homa Amini is a Professor-Clinical at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry and an attending dentist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She earned her DDS and MPH from OSU, and her MS and Pediatric Dentistry certificate from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a board-certified pediatric dentist.

Marla Morse, MSW, MPA, Executive Director, Oral Health Ohio
Marla joined Oral Health Ohio in 2017 to oversee the implementation of the coalition’s statewide strategic initiatives. Oral Health Ohio is a statewide coalition that advocates for systems to prioritize oral health to address disparities across the lifespan.

 Mona Taylor, BSDH, RDH, Aoral Health Access Program Coordinator, Oral Health Program, Ohio Department of Health
As the Oral Health Access Program Coordinator for the Ohio Oral Health Program (OHP), Monda develops and administers statewide programs designed to improve access to dental care for underserved Ohioans.

Addressing Behavioral Health Needs in Rural Ohio 
September 17, 2025
Noon

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Presenters:  Dr. Ericka King-Betts, Director of Health Equity; John Nisky, Director of Behavioral Health; Dr. Krizia Melendez, Senior Health Equity Manager; Maddie Perry, Senior Population Health Strategy Professional

This presentation will discuss how Humana Healthy Horizons in OH (HHH OH) is actively working to ensure that all our members have a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Currently, 36,542 HHH OH adult members and 11,254 child members have a behavioral health diagnosis. Of our child members with a behavioral health diagnosis, 20.59% of them live in rural areas and 21.86% of them live in partially rural areas. We will do a deep dive into how we are addressing the behavioral health needs of our members in rural Ohio. Presenters will highlight key partnerships and collaborations:

• Addressing quality of care through internal and external trainings
• Increasing access to care by leveraging data and collaborative partnerships with internal and external stakeholders
• Removing barriers to healthy living by leveraging collaborative internal and external stakeholders

 Source

• CMS Framework for Advancing Health Care in Rural, Tribal, and Geographically Isolated Communities
• Advancing Rural Health Equity: Fiscal Year 2022 Year in Review