Putting the Practice First

Dale Hockel

Chief Operating Offi cer

It is that time of year when the weather starts to change from the heat of summer to the cooler days of winter. I’ve always enjoyed the changing of the seasons, but I do not enjoy the extreme weather conditions that come along with them. With many of our DCA-affi liated practices situated along the East and Gulf coasts of the US, this means Hurricane season. This fall, Hurricane Dorian, expected to be one of the most intense and potentially damaging storms in recent history, was predicted to impact our Florida, Georgia and Virginia teams. Ultimately, it struck and stalled over the Bahamas, creating what is regarded by many to be the worst natural disaster in that country’s history. I want to recognize our team’s amazing eff orts to take care of our patients and team members aff ected before, during and after the storm. Our offi ce 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 offi ces that were in the storm’s path to ensure they were alright and to provide any support that was needed. Our Support Center Team: IT, Real Estate and Communications were at the ready and in place to support the offi ces in need. Great job to all!

Working Smarter. Not Harder.

We also have another Practice First initiative this quarter that I want to share with you – Smart Scheduling. Earlier this year we noticed that there were scheduling challenges with some of our practices that were negatively impacting our doctorsʼ and offi ce staff ʼs ability to serve patients. Nicole Lipp and Bridget O’Neill from the Northeast team decided to take this on and develop a solution. “Smart Scheduling balances the work load throughout the month, leaving space to accommodate lengthier, more complicated procedures the doctor may need to schedule.”

Delivering excellent patient experience 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 schedule is positioned for success.

Lastly, the operations team has some great news to share, with several internal promotions in the business. Shawna Eury was promoted to the Division Vice President for Florida. Over the last ten years, she has built a strong foundation and relationship with our teams in Florida and across the DCA family of affi liated practices. A passionate and thoughtful 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 offi ces. 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.

To that end, Eduardo Laventman has been 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 dynamic and forward-thinking leader that we are proud to have leading this important part of our business.

“When we were fi rst introduced to Smart Scheduling I was very scared that we would have no production. But we wanted to give it a shot and picked Monday October 21, 2019, as our fi rst day to do so.

fi ll appointments with our template, I was able to speak to the parent, invite them back and re-activate them as patients.

And the results speak for themselves: On our fi rst day, Dr. Susan Lobaton produced more than fi ve times her daily average, with total of $8103.39! Susan Lobaton, DMD

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 we do it we will see for ourselves what a GREAT ASSET it really is to help us be more successful.”