State of decay: How Maine's dentists get help to practice in underserved areas

Across the country, an improving economy has pulled teachers and potential teachers away from the profession, creating a growing national shortage. Leaders at Elmhurst Community Prep managed not only to completely staff the school by early June, but to avoid taking on anyone who was not fully certified.

Twelve million people are blind in India, and are robbed of their livelihoods as a result. A hugely successful chain of cataract hospitals in India helped its business by treating half its patients for free.

Research in the U.S. suggests that a small class size is not enough but in combination with teacher training it leads to a change in achievement.

Kepler University in Rwanda reduces the cost of a university education by hiring teachers based on their willingness to innovate — not necessarily their expertise — and by blending online and in-classroom learning. Students receive the equivalent of a college diploma and job training in order to facilitate a possible rise out of poverty.

Tooth decay affects children from all backgrounds, but it’s concentrated among low-income and rural populations, who have the most difficulty accessing and affording dental care. One approach gaining momentum in the United States to extend access to underserved groups is based on an idea that was pioneered in New Zealand 93 years ago, and has been adopted in more than 50 countries - the idea is to train “dental therapists,” who, like dental hygienists, work under the supervision of dentists, but who can also drill teeth and perform non-complex extractions.

Medicine is in crisis; doctors face early burnout. Medical education contributes: it creates doctors who don’t show emotion. But The Healer’s Art, a medical school course delivered in an unconventional manner, reminds doctors that they and their patients are above all, human.

Across the country, jails hold 10 times as many people with serious mental illness as state hospitals do, according to a recent report from the Treatment Advocacy Center. To deal with the problem, San Antonio and Bexar County have transformed their mental health system into a program considered a model for the rest of the nation - the effort has focused on an idea called "smart justice" — basically, diverting people with serious mental illness out of jail and into treatment instead.

Rama Arora defied tradition and secretly pursued her PhD as a young woman in India, succeeding at becoming the first female professor at a women's college. Now she is inspiring more Indian girls to further their educatione, so they can help bring about greater equality in society.

Rates of problem behaviors and emotional issues among students are high - over 3 million elementary and secondary school students are suspended a year. To remedy the problem, a new program for educators delivers lessons on how to help students navigate their emotional lives.

Once-a-day generic AIDS drugs for poor countries are hard to make because each ingredient is patented by a different pharmaceutical company. The Patent Pool provides a way for companies to donate their intellectual property safely.