Over the last decade, the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN) has emerged from a nationwide conversation among policymakers, providers, public health activists, and grassroots organizers who understand that today’s system of health care isn’t working for everyone’s overall health and well-being.

This year’s theme, “OPEN Together Again — Reconnecting for Progress & Equity” emphasizes a focus on members reuniting and rallying around OPEN’s new action plan for oral health systems change. The “OPEN Blueprint for Structural Improvement” is a Network-driven strategy to amplify consumer voices, advance oral health policy, integrate dental and medical, emphasize prevention, and bring care to the people.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide participants with an opportunity to reconnect with one another, orient themselves to the OPEN Blueprint (strategic plan), and take away practical skills, resources, and tools that will support progress in changing systems in their communities over both the short and long-term. By attending, participants will have:

• An opportunity to reconnect and re-energize as a network
• An opportunity to learn about centering equity in collective impact work and increased awareness of common barriers to progress
• A shared understanding of the “OPEN Blueprint for Structural Improvement”—how it will be operationalized nationwide, alignment around agreed-upon actions, and ways to use impact measures to tell the story of success
• A shared awareness of the current landscape in which we find ourselves as we envision a country where everyone has an equitable chance to thrive

The first day, July 11th, will feature a pre-convening for OPEN leadership. Over the next three days, 275 attendees will reconnect after time apart in order to network, build skills, and create action plans for 2022 and beyond.