Our Work
Please see below to learn more about the Santa Fe Group's work since its inception.
Comprehensive Health Without Oral Health: The Medicare Paradox
On May 8-10, 2019 in Arlington, VA, more than 175 healthcare change makers from across all sectors were invited by the Santa Fe Group to join in one mission: to elevate the critical need to include an oral health benefit in Medicare and examine best practices to make it happen.
Expanding Oral Healthcare for America’s Seniors
On September 29-30, 2016, the Santa Fe Group convened a Salon titled Expanding Oral Healthcare for America’s Seniors. Attendees reviewed evidence about the need for dental coverage for seniors and discussed what a Medicare benefits package could entail. The rationale, costs, and benefits of improved oral healthcare access for seniors made a compelling case for expanding Medicare to include dental benefits.
Preventing Childhood Obesity
On November 3–4, 2016 at Georgetown University Conference Center, Washington, DC, the Santa Fe Group was proud to act as a collaboration partner with Healthy Futures for Engaging the Oral Health Community in Childhood Obesity Prevention National Conference. This two-day special event served as an important step to involve the oral health community in contributing to the prevention of childhood obesity.
Transforming Dental Hygiene Education
The Santa Fe Group, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), and the ADHA Institute for Oral Health convened more than 100 oral health stakeholders in the Transforming Dental Hygiene Education conference in Chicago from September September 18‐20, 2013.
Maryland Oral Health Summit: Proceedings
Following news of the death in 2007 of a 12-year-old Maryland boy, Deamonte Driver, from an untreated dental infection that had spread to his brain and shocked the nation, the state of Maryland created the Maryland Dental Action Coalition and in 2011, with the Santa Fe Group convened the Maryland Oral Health Summit in October 2011.
Linking the Medical and Dental Delivery Systems for Improved Oral Health
The Santa Fe Group convened a panel discussion at the April-13 2011 National Oral Health Conference in Pittsburgh, PA on the need for linking medical and dental delivery systems to improve patient care, particularly in identifying oral diseases in children under age three.
Envisioning Success: The Future of the Oral Health Care Delivery System in the United States
To enhance access to oral health care services and eliminate oral health disparities in America, The Institute of Medicine convened a workshop February 9–11, 2009 on the US Oral Health Workforce in the Coming Decade which highlighted both the current workforce’s failure to meet the nation’s needs as well as the promising opportunities presented by various workforce strategies to significantly enhance access and improve oral health outcomes.
Meeting the Oral Health Needs of the Aging Population: Education, Service & Advocacy
The Santa Fe Group partnered with Nova Southeastern University from November 15- 17, 2009 in Fort Lauderdale Florida, to identify and establish best practices and resources to train health care providers to care for the unique needs and challenges of the elder population’s oral health. More than 75 interdisciplinary thought leaders participated in this event.
Expanding Access to Primary Care: New Oral Health Workforce Models
The Santa Fe Group partnered with Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York Academy of Medicine, and the Center for Health Professionals to convene a conference on June 4-5, 2008 in New York City.
Oral Health for the Elderly: Challenges and Opportunities
The Santa Fe Group met on June 28, 2007, to discuss how best to meet the needs of this booming elderly population and to identify necessary actions to improve their oral health. Offered here are synopses from the Group’s four panel discussions.
The Role of Family & Community in Children’s Oral Health
In June 2006, the Santa Fe Group convened The Life of a Child: The Role of Family and Community in Children’s Oral Health in Los Angeles, California hosted by the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. Supported by an avid group of professional organizations and businesses, this conference was designed to widen the lens on children’s health disparities by engaging the broader range of biological, environmental, social and cultural determinants impacting children’s health and well-being, including their oral health.
The Need for Reform in Dental Education
In August, 2004, the Santa Fe Group convened a conference in San Francisco to explore what is widely perceived to be a crisis in American dental education and to plan strategies for transforming the system which trains the nation’s oral health care professionals. The ultimate objective is to stimulate reflective thought and action on the part of dental educators and others to produce oral health professionals better equipped to deal with the health care realities they will face in the future.
Oral Care Access Scholars Program
In conjunction with the Dental Trade Alliance, the Santa Fe Group launched a new program in 2002 that focuses on increasing dental care access. The Santa Fe Group is providing conceptual guidance and overall project management while the American Dental Trade Association is providing the “mission directive” and funding.
