• Watch Your Mouth Massachusetts: The Watch Your Mouth Coalition Is Working In Massachusetts, New Hampshire And Maine To Make Children's Oral Health A Priority. Objectives of the Watch Your Mouth Coalition are to Educate the public that tooth decay is the most common childhood disease that can cause diminished school performance and poor overall health. WYM advocates for wider access to preventive services, such as dental sealants and fluoride, and regular dental exams for all children.
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Newsletter

Vol. 3, issue 3
March 2008

March Events

Greetings!

Happy March! The cold winter may be here for another few weeks, but that won't stop us from planning some great events for you to attend. This month, we will debrief on the success of the 3rd Annual Oral Health Heroes Event this past February. We have two events coming up: Watch Your Mouth Spokesperson training and the Health Care For All's Policy and Organizing conference and at the end of the month, so make sure to RSVP! We will also continue to build our framing skills by understanding the importance of tone as a framing tool, and we will hear from our partner spotlight of the month: Community Partners, Inc. Last but not least, don't forget to check out the quick links on the left side for some upcoming events, resources and trainings.

Watch Your Mouth's 3rd Annual Oral Health Heroes Event was a Sucess!

February is Children's Dental Health Month and the Watch Your Mouth Campaign celebrated this important month by hosting the 3rd Annual Oral Health Heroes Event at the State House. This event honors legislators and community leaders dedicated to improving the state of oral health in Massachusetts. Because dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease and among the most neglected, over 150 advocates, legislators and consumers were in attendance to ensure that oral health remains a statewide priority.

The event, sponsored by the Oral Health Foundation and the Legislative Oral Health Caucus, honored Representative John Scibak (D-Hampshire), Senator Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham), Nancy Johnson, RDH of Granby, and Dr. Mark Stone, DMD of Norwood. Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services JudyAnn Bigby, MD, also spoke at the event about the importance of early access to preventive care. Once again, congratulations to our 2008 heroes for championing oral health in their communities and in the Commonwealth.

Save the Date: Watch Your Mouth's Spokesperson training is on April 2nd!

Watch Your Mouth's Spokesperson training

Join us on April 2nd at 10 am for the next Watch Your Mouth Spokesperson Training. The training will be held in Westborough, MA at the Catalyst Institute Building.

Spend the day with the FrameWorks Institute, experts in the field of communicating for social change. This hands-on workshop is a great chance to hear more about Watch Your Mouth and learn the skills to become a spokesperson in support of kids' oral health! Click here to get directions. RSVP Today!

Register today for Health Care For All's Policy and Organizing Conference

health care for all

As oral health advocates, it's important for us to step back and understand the bigger picture around health care, which is why we invite you to attend Health Care For All's 2008 Policy and Organizing Conference, "Building Momentum, Moving Forward." This conference brings together leading policymakers, health care providers, community and business leaders, organizers and activists from across the state. The conference will be held on March 28th at the Holiday Inn Boxborough (242 Adams Place Boxborough, MA 01719.) This year's conference brings many exciting workshops that will refresh your skills and resources as health care advocates. We will also hear from our featured speakers:

  • Leslie A. Kirwan (Secretary, Executive Office of Administration and Finance)
  • Nancy Turnbull (Member, Connector Authority)
  • John E. McDonough (Executive Director, Health Care For All)

For more information about the conference, send an email to hcfaconferenceinfo@hcfama.org or call our conference hotline at (617) 275-2934. Register for the Policy and Organizing Conference, "Building Momentum, Moving Forward."

Using Tone as a Framing Element

frameworks

Tone refers to the style, mood, manners or philosophical outlook of a communication. When an individual hears a topic that one is not familiar with, they will look for cues in the communication itself to connect the issue to the frames that they are already familiar with. According to FrameWorks Institute, the tone of communications can provide poweful cues capable of effectively and efficiently communicating a frame. When tone is used with proper visuals, messengers and metaphors, the odds increase that the communication will connect to the desired existing internalized frame.

Learn More on the Importance of Tone in Framing your Issue.

March Partner Spotlight: Community Partners, Inc.

Since 1997, Community Partners (CP) has worked closely with health access outreach and enrollment workers. These dedicated and talented experts have a deep and practical understanding of the needs and barriers to coverage their clients face. For residents in need, piecing together enough coverage and care for themselves and their families requires skilled navigation of a constantly changing web of state programs, policies and community resources.

CP believes that informed, engaged outreach and enrollment workers are essential to the Commonwealth's goal of guaranteed, affordable, quality health care. Through our timely, accurate email updates on program and policy changes and our Health Access Network (HAN) meetings in western Massachusetts and metro-Boston, we help outreach and enrollment workers assist their clients and promote policies that are responsive and effective. With our blog Speaking of Outreach and online surveys, we create opportunities for outreach and enrollment workers' voices to join in policy conversations that will shape the future of health access in our state. Check out Community Partners' website

As always, if you have any events or resources that you would like for us to share, please let me know. See you at the Spokesperson training on April 2nd!

Many Thanks,

Czarina





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Watch Your Mouth Massachusetts is supported by grants from the Oral Health Foundation and Dental Services of Massachusetts.
Watch Your Mouth Coalition.