PUTTING THE PRACTICE FIRST Dale Hockel
Chief Operating Officer
alright and to provide any support that
promotions in the business. Shawna
was needed. Our Support Center Team:
Eury was promoted to the Division Vice
IT, Real Estate and Communications were
President for Florida. Over the last ten
at the ready and in place to support the
years, she has built a strong foundation
offices in need. Great job to all!
and relationship with our teams in Florida
It is that time of year when the weather
Working Smarter. Not Harder.
starts to change from the heat of summer
We also have another Practice First
to the cooler days of winter. I’ve always
initiative this quarter that I want to share
enjoyed the changing of the seasons,
with you – Smart Scheduling. Earlier
but I do not enjoy the extreme weather
this year we noticed that there were
conditions that come along with them.
scheduling challenges with some of our
With many of our DCA-affiliated practices
practices that were negatively impacting
situated along the East and Gulf coasts
our doctorsʼ and office staffʼs ability to
of the US, this means Hurricane season.
serve patients. Nicole Lipp and Bridget
This fall, Hurricane Dorian, expected to be
O’Neill from the Northeast team decided
one of the most intense and potentially
to take this on and develop a solution.
damaging storms in recent history, was
“Smart Scheduling balances the work
predicted to impact our Florida, Georgia
load throughout the month, leaving
and Virginia teams. Ultimately, it struck
space to accommodate lengthier, more
and stalled over the Bahamas, creating
complicated procedures the doctor may
what is regarded by many to be the worst
need to schedule.”
natural disaster in that country’s history. I want to recognize our team’s amazing efforts to take care of our patients and team members affected before, during and after the storm. Our office managers and staff were proactive in calling patients in advance of the storm to ensure their appointments were rescheduled. Our doctors and hygienists altered their hours to accommodate their patientsʼ needs. Regional managers established daily cadence calls with offices that were in the storm’s path to ensure they were
and building lasting relationships are very important to our providers and teams. The implementation of Smart Scheduling will enable DCA practices to reach more patients in need of quality dental healthcare and to ensure that each provider’s daily
leader, she has the breadth of knowledge and unique perspective that will position her for success in this important role. As our family of practices grows in strength, size and scope, so too does the need for focus and expertise to manage the respective and distinct operating models for specialty offices. Over the last eighteen months, we have welcomed many impressive orthodontic practices, and are committed to supporting and driving improvements to ensure our collective success.
promoted to Division Vice President for all Orthodontic Operations, and will provide leadership and assume responsibility for all orthodontic practices across Dental Care Alliance’s four divisions. Eduardo’s rich and progressive experience at DCA, coupled with years of clinical practice in Mexico, has developed him into the
schedule is positioned for success.
dynamic and forward-thinking leader
Lastly, the operations team has some
important part of our business.
great news to share, with several internal
that we are proud to have leading this
“When we were first introduced to Smart
fill appointments with our template, I was able to speak to the
Scheduling I was very scared that we would
parent, invite them back and re-activate them as patients.
shot and picked Monday October 21, 2019, as our first day to do so.
I just wanted to share a little insight. We felt like many others probably do — reluctant to implement the new Smart Scheduling templates and process. With any change, this is normal, but once
And the results speak for themselves: On our
we do it we will see for ourselves what a GREAT ASSET it really is
first day, Dr. Susan Lobaton produced more
to help us be more successful.”
than five times her daily average, with total of $8103.39! I have also been able to schedule five patients who were not going to return to the practice. Because I reached out to them to
20
practices. A passionate and thoughtful
To that end, Eduardo Laventman has been
Delivering excellent patient experience
have no production. But we wanted to give it a
Susan Lobaton, DMD
and across the DCA family of affiliated
Elizabeth Knowlton | Office Manager | Diamond Spring Dental | Denville, NJ
