( PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. ) – Jefferson Healthcare is home to the first Rural Health Clinic (RHC) in the State of Washington to offer dental services that address the needs of Medicaid patients and the under and uninsured.

Coates Design worked with Jefferson Healthcare to design the six-chair clinic in the existing Sheridan Medical Office Building situated across the street from the hospital which currently houses primary care with integrated behavioral health services.  Also located in the building is the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). This close proximity allows affordable dental services to be fully integrated with primary care and behavioral health utilizing a whole-person care concept. 

Mike Glenn, Jefferson Healthcare CEO, puts it this way.  “The head is connected to the body so to us, integrated dental care made sense.  We were very excited to launch this service for our community and even more excited to be a model for other organizations to do the same in their community.  It was the right thing to do and we are fortunate to have a team at Jefferson Healthcare who strive to make care accessible. The dental clinic is one more example of how they have knocked it out of the park.”

Dental care for the under and uninsured is one of the most critical health needs in rural Washington counties including east Jefferson County where Jefferson Healthcare is located. Coates Design supported their client on over 40 previous design projects and was hired to help them alleviate this gap in health care service.  Offering hygiene appointments which include comprehensive oral exams, x-rays, periodontal exams and cavity fills, the clinic’s primary goal is to serve children and adults on Medicaid/Washington State Apple Health.  The new clinic fills a need by serving an estimated 3,000 children and adults annually in the six-chair office.

This innovative solution of integrating dental services into primary care clinics operating as RHCs leverages the recent changes to the WA State Medicaid program which now allow RHCs to bill an encounter rate rather than a fee-for-service rate for dental services.  The changes to the WA State Medicaid program enable Jefferson Healthcare to provide dental care to the most vulnerable in the community who often are forced to delay care until they go to the emergency department.  Coates Design was honored to help Jefferson Healthcare implement this important pilot program.

This project has been made possible with support from the Taxpayers of Washington State, Washington State Hospital Association, Washington State Legislators, Washington State Department of Health, the Arcora Foundation, Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation. Jefferson Healthcare acknowledges the Washington State District 24 Legislative Delegation, Representatives Tharinger and Chapman, and Senator Van De Wege, for their vision in identifying the need for dental services in Jefferson County and their support in moving this work forward.