TALES ALONG THE CQI TRAIL

Of course many of you were not practicing dentistry or even out of Kindergarten when CQI started in 1997. I was privileged to be the first CQI speaker on malpractice issues back then since quality is a major component of dentistry, and the lack thereof in a few cases was the impetus for the UDA asking me to be the major speaker for a number of years.

Even before CQI and before many of you were even born I wrote a series called “Tales Along the Trail” which covered various hikes I had done from the late 1980s onward with the intent to give dentists some ideas for their own scenic adventures. That column ceased around the time CQI began but I thought it would be a fun hike down the memory lane trail to recollect some unique adventures and memories from days long gone by.

Dr. Steve Morgan was a UDA officer back in 1998 and we all rode in his Suburban in early November to get to Vernal for the CQI held at the 7-11 Ranch Restaurant and adjudicated by the Jolley Brothers, who still rule the dental roost in the Uintah Basin. Dr. Norm Rounds (may he rest in peace after passing away on September 27, 2022) and I decided to play golf in Vernal as the weather forecast called for unusually nice weather. Indeed it was in the 70s and we had a great time playing golf in our summer attire. The CQI meeting was held after a delicious dinner and the famous scones 7-11 Ranch Restaurant is famous for, but near the end of the meeting we got word that U.S. Highway 40 through Daniels Summit was closed due to a fast moving cold front and blizzard. I urged the group to get motel rooms and just stay in Vernal that night but Dr. Morgan had patients scheduled the next morning and insisted that we drive home that evening. So we drove south via U.S. 191 through what Steve called “Indian Canyon” to U.S. 6 just west of Price and got home around 1:30AM. But Norm and I marveled how we could play golf one minute and be almost stuck in a blizzard the next!

I was privileged to be part of the CQI team in 1999 with Monte Thompson and Drs. Norm Rounds, Brian Lundberg, Jerald Boseman and James Ence. That year we gave out Century of Service Awards to various dentists responsible for raising the profession to significant heights in their various districts. We started out in early September in the Weber District at a restaurant called Joanies in Ogden, somewhat of a throwback to an earlier age and orchestrated by Dr. Glenn McMillan and honored John Starley and Mike Burdett with the awards. It was our first CQI presentation that year so it was a little rough but the dentists were kind in their review of our performance.

The next stop was the Box Elder District where we ate a delicious dinner at Maddox Ranch House in Perry where we had an intimate but great group with a mix of old and new dentists and honored Drs. Al Warren, Pete Knudson, Wynn Anderson, and Bill Knudson. Then we were off to Logan to have a golf outing with Dr. Brian Thornley at the Logan Country Club. I drove up with Dr. Norm Rounds and those of us who knew him well remembered how laid back he often was. He was supposed to meet me after lunch so we could drive up there in plenty of time but he was late and then informed me we had to stop on the way to pick up the award plaque for Dr. Thornley. I worried that we would never make our tee time and I set a record getting to Logan in 65 minutes from Salt Lake without getting a ticket, even driving through the Mantua speed trap. We met Brian Thornley at the course, had a great round, and then enjoyed the emotional presentation of the award as we kept it secret from Brian and he had no idea it was coming.

Next was the Southern Utah Swing. Monte, Norm and I drove down together through hard rain to St. George and enjoyed dinner at a very nice setting – Andelin’s Gable House. Dr. James Ott organized the event and a good group from St. George and Cedar City attended. This meeting was the debut of Dr. Ence as a UDA officer but he was received well, unlike the usual “prophet in his own land.” There was a lively discussion about dealing with the overcrowded 1/900 ratio of dentists to population in that area dealing with a few “snowbirds with an attitude” down there. We were pleased to present the awards to Drs. Rodney Brown and Robert Prince.

After staying in St. George for the evening Norm and I played golf at Sky Mountain, a fun course with beautiful views while Monte did research in the Hurricane library nearby. From there we enjoyed the interesting drive through the mountain range to Richfield for the South Central District presentation organized well by a young but up and coming Dr. Len Aste. The award was presented to Dr. Wayne Chisholm.

Next time we had a lunch meeting in Bountiful which reminded me of my time spent in the Sugar House Rotary Club for lunch at Chuck-a-rama in Sugar House. Of course that restaurant is now gone along with the one where we had the South Davis District meeting, Christopher’s, organized by Dr. Roger Jones. The awards went to Drs. Max Conley, Tom A. Page and Chris Simonsen, the “Mr. Rogers” of Utah pediatric dentistry still going strong in private practice.

After a month hiatus to enable the UDA officers to get ready for and attend the ADA Convention, we were back on the road to attend the Uintah Basin CQI at, once again, the 7-11 Ranch Restaurant in Vernal. The Jolley brothers arranged for a large group to attend, including spouses and a lively meeting ensued. The awards went to Drs. John Shimmin and Dale Larsen.

The next day, joined by Jim Ence and Monte Thompson, Norm and I enjoyed an early morning walk and then breakfast in a throwback mode to days gone by, and then Norm and I made the interesting drive through Colorado and amazing scenery along the Colorado River from the Uinitah Basin to Moab where we had a rousing golf match at the Moab Golf Club ending in a tie on the last hole thanks to the best score ever from me, and then we had a great CQI session at the Sunset Grill at the top of the bluff overlooking Moab organized by the up and coming Jon Fuller. Moab was getting too green, though due to the plethora of Colorado license plates of that color.

Getting near the end, we gave our presentation in my backyard, the Salt Lake District, where several of my peers remembered me as a fellow practicing dentist. We gave probably one of our most polished, best presentations to an excellent turnout to what started out as a rather skeptical but then thoughtful and respectful group of dentists. The awards were presented to Mel Malmstrom, John Gerritsen, Wally Brown and Jerry Summerhays. We wrapped up the CQI sessions for 1999 in Provo, where we had a large turnout for our last presentation and the largest batch of awards to hand out. These went to Drs. John Chambers, Neal Evans, Gordon Christensen, Rella Christensen, and Kipp Robins. Now, fast forward to CQI 2022. After a long hiatus, I was asked to give a brief report on dental ethics pertaining to malpractice lawsuits and court appearances. I was joined by my colleagues at PIE, CEO Dr. David Alvord who took over for me there and PIE’s in-house counsel Chris Rogers. The other live presenters were UDA Executive Director Dr. Val Radmall, UDA President Kay Christensen, President-Elect Mark Taylor, and Dean Rory Hume and Assistant Dean Jim Bekker from the U. of Utah School of Dentistry. So what was different about CQI 25 years after its origin?

1. CQI is not longer required by the state or DOPL but it is highly recommended and does keep dentists from having to take an ethics course which would otherwise be required by DOPL. Several other professions have ethics as part of their required continuing education for licensure. Ethics is now a major component of CQI and topics under that subject were presented by me along with current UDA President Kay Christensen.

2. The numbers of dentists attending were down a little bit but not bad. It helped that the majority of the presentations were part of a dinner meeting and most of the meals, particularly the one at Steve’s Steakhouse in Richfield, were delicious!

3. The composition of the UDA has changed dramatically with a relatively new but effective Executive Director Dr. Val Radmall. His presentations were incisive and informative and he doesn’t mince words. I did not recognize a lot of the faces in attendance which was great since the younger dentists made an excellent showing.

4. Monthly District meetings have gone by the wayside. For most of the districts, the CQI session was the only meeting of the year which is an unfortunate change but the way things are these days. Kudos to the dentists willing to step forward and lead these less active districts along with efforts to generate camaraderie and educational opportunities.

5. There are now two dental schools in Utah and for a few years at CQI, the Deans alternated participation. This year we were privileged to hear from Dean Rory Hume who has done a fantastic job leading the University of Utah School of Dentistry. He is a great asset to the entire Utah dental community and gave one of the best lectures I have ever heard on cariology at the 2022 UDA Annual Meeting. He is also a world champion team rower.

So, that is my CQI report in a nutshell. I hope some of you enjoyed this stroll down memory lane and that others will feel good about the UDA and opportunities it brings twenty-five years from now in 2047! I hope I am still around!

Dr Richard C. Engar UDA member since 1981

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