Rep. McNally announces $110,000 for Medicaid Program Support

COLUMBUS – State Rep. Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) today announced the Controlling Board’s approval of $110,000 to contract with Mercy Health, Youngstown, Ohio to improve hospital protocols and provide access to dental care for low-income Ohioans.

“It’s truly a win for our communities across the board,” said Rep. McNally. “Providing access to quality healthcare, including dental care, is the bare minimum we can do to give more Ohioans opportunities to lead healthier lives. No one should be left out due to a lack of resources.”

Dental disease is most effectively prevented and treated in dental settings. However, due to the barriers of cost and accessibility, many Ohioans can’t afford to go to a private dentist or access a dentist who accepts their method of payment. As a result, many low-income Ohioans resort to seeking dental care in hospital emergency rooms to relieve dental pain and related conditions. This project will improve access to oral health care for underserved communities by instituting a continuing medical education program and enhanced referral network to direct patients who present a non-traumatic dental condition (NTDC) from hospital emergency departments (EDs) to local dental services. 

Mercy Health will oversee the development of a protocol and continuing medical education program (CME) focused on providing appropriate triage services for patients who present in the ED for a NTDC, and for a referral process resulting in patients being seen within 24-48 hours of their ED visit for oral care. The protocol will provide guidance on patient oral health problems, appropriate prescription practices for pain relief and infections, and referral processes. The request was made by the Department of Health (ODH) and was approved for the fiscal year of 2025 under the 3GD0, ALI 654601 fund (Medicaid Program Support).