CCHCI dental vaccine integration program wins statewide award

Chiricahua Community Health LPN and Immunization Specialist Kim Fruth holds a flu vaccine which was dispensed using the AccuVax device in the Sierra Vista facility last week. The AccuVax can dispense several different vaccines on demand for patients. MARK LEVY HERALD/REVIEW

SIERRA VISTA — A program at Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc to increase vaccination rates was recently awarded the Arizona Partnership for Immunization Big Shot’s Award.

The Dental Vaccine Integration Program offers vaccinations to dental patients without the need for a separate visit. Founded by Chirichuca’s Director of Dental Programming Brianna Hillier, DMD, and joined last year by Immunization Specialist Kim Fruth LPN, the program has dispensed more than 1800 vaccines since its inception.

In the dental clinic sits an AccuVax vaccine management system, which dispenses all vaccines for the flu, COVID-19, HPV, and many more.

“In April, last month, I gave 102,” noted Fruth.  All together, the program administered more than 1,970 vaccines to more than 1,470 people.

Fruth joined a year ago, but the concept itself came to Hillier during COVID.

“Normally in Arizona, a dentist or dental provider cannot give a vaccine,” she said “But during COVID the pool of eligible immunizers was expanded. So basically any healthcare professional, retired nurses.. there were a lot of people that could come out of the woodworks to help vaccinate.”

During this time, CCHCI launched its own COVID immunization program in the lobbies of its clinics. After that, Hillier had the idea to provide proactive healthcare to dental patients.

“There are a lot of people that might come through our doors that might not necessarily come though the medical doors, and they’re due for XYZ,” noted Hillier. “Then the biggest kind of bullseye was immunization, particularly in Sierra Vista, where we have more patients and one of largest clinics.”

Delta Dental of Arizona, she said, offered invaluable support for the program. “They are helping fund this program, actually,” Hillier said. “So they helped fund Kim’s position… they also helped with our AccuVax machine. This is the second year in a row we received funding from the  Delta Dental Arizona Foundation- they’re helping to make this idea come to life.”

Hillier explained how the Dental Vaccine Integration Program works, noting that when someone checks in for a dental appointment, the clinic looks them up in the state database to see if that person is due for any vaccinations. If they are, the vaccine will be offered during the visit, or the patients can opt to schedule an appointment at a later time.

If a patient says yes, a vaccine is dispensed that meets their age, weight, etc., and Fruth administers the vaccine.

“Kim’s awesome,” Hillier said. “She’s expanding her scope into screening for high blood pressure and hemoglobin A1C.”

The crux of the program, she explained, is an emphasis on whole-body health.

“It’s not just your mouth,” Hillier said. “I care that you’re up to date with your vaccines.”

Hillier said that the program has an acceptance rate of more than 50%, being especially popular with parents.

Chiricahua Dental Director Brianna Hillier discuss their program of administering vaccines during dental visits, which won an award from the Arizona Partnership for Immunization. MARK LEVY HERALD/REVIEW

“(They) get a one stop shop or their child can get their dental checkup, their dental cleaning, what they need here, plus any immunizations they might need as well,” she said. “That way I don’t have to walk across the street to go to another building.”

Vaccinations, she noted, can be obtained many different ways. What CCHCI offers is convenience and a proactive approach by providers.

“You can get a vaccine at a lot of places, the grocery store or the County Health Department, hospitals, you can get them at your doctor’s office,” she said. “I care at the end of the day that patients are vaccinated, I don’t care where they get it. But we are taking the proactive approach and actually asking the patients if they’d like to get it to them.”

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