Team update:
Sam will be leaving us. Her last day will be September 2nd. We have loved having Sam here for the last 2 years and wish her the very best in her new adventures! We look forward to still seeing many more princess pics!! 🙂
Hey gang!
We have a few updates for you.
TEAM CHANGES/UPDATES:
FRONT –
Kenzie has been driving for over 2 hours each day to be part of our team and has decided it is time to work closer to her home. We will miss her greatly and have loved having her! We are looking for a new team member to cover the Front Desk. Kenzie’s last day will be August 26th. We have a few interviews coming in so take a minute and say “HI”!
HYG –
- Megan will start school on August 24th. She will have Monday and Wednesday afternoons off. Nikki (a previous ex-tern) had been hired to cover those hours. She will need lots of training and support. Her only experience has been the hours she shadowed us. We look forward to welcoming her and getting her up to speed and appreciate everyone’s participation in this.
- For any who have not had a chance to meet her, we hired Caylee Jones to be our Friday Hygienist. We are loving having her here!
- Trace is planning on coming back for Wednesdays mid-September. We appreciate Mikelle and others who have covered her maternity leave!
ASSTS:
We are looking to hire a Full Time Dental Assistant to add to our team. There is a chance we may look at training someone from scratch. If that is the case, they will start out learning sterilization and work up from there with the goal of training for Restorative.
You all ROCK!!
THANK YOU!!!
We wanted to thank everyone for all the hard work these past few weeks – working to cover shifts and support team members.
We also want to wish everyone a Happy Father’s Day weekend as well as send out a friendly reminder to stay safe, follow guidelines related to COVID-19 and be careful.
We do have an employee that has family members that tested positivie for COVID-19 and is therefore being quarantined. The virus was not from work-related activities and we have no cause to be concerned as long as we continue to follow guidelines set in place.
Please make sure that both at work and at home we are careful to slow the spread of this virus as much as possible.
Have fun – for sure!! Celebrate the fathers in your life and, again, BE SAFE!!
Thank you again and we truly do care for you as part of our family!
Dr. Shad and Dr. RIck 5/16/2020
4/29/2020
Can you believe April is almost over?? WOWZERS!
For today, I just want to make sure everyone is receiving the information you need to get back to work.
ASSIGNMENT: Please text me “GOT IT” so I know you know where and when the Team meeting is and what you need to bring. 🙂
See you soon!
EXTRA CREDIT: Send me something funny that you’ve seen or heard or experienced in the last month. I would love a reason to smile. 🙂
4/27/2020
Greetings to all on a new week full of possibilities!!
UPDATE and INFO:
Team Meeting on Friday, May 1st will be from 9 am – 2 pm.
LOCATION:
2314 Washington Blvd Ogden (WSU – Off campus location)
Can park in Megaplex underground parking
Text when you get there so you can be let in.
PLEASE ARRIVE 5-10 minutes early so meeting can start on time. 🙂
FOR YOUR SAFETY:
-Masks and Hand Sanitizer will be provided
-Seats will be positioned as far apart as possible
PLEASE BRING:
-Pen and paper
-Your Notes from blog assignments
HYGIENISTS:
We hope you will participate in a video message to be posted on Facebook that will assure patients of what we are doing for their safety, letting them know we are back and also giving some home care tips/reminders for those that are at high risk and may wait a little longer to come see us.
Here is the tentative script I have, but it is only to get your brains going. Please review this and make any alterations, deletions, and additions you feel would be most beneficial and represent us the best.
“Hello! We are your hygienists at VIP Smiles. We have missed you BUT…GOOD NEWS….We are back!!
We are again seeing patients . We wanted to let you know what we are doing to keep you and our team safe.
(LIST ITEMS)
We are aware some of you may not be ready to jump back in the dental chair right away due to respiratory issues, immune deficiencies and the like. We completely understand. However we want to encourage you to be diligent with your home care routine. The health of your mouth is intimately connected to the health of your entire body and we would hate for you to be compromised in any way.
So here are a few tips……
(List Tips)
We are here for you in any way you may need. Please feel free to call, text, email or message us with any questions. Not only is your healthy smile important to use but each of you and your families are very close to our hearts and we can’t wait to see you again soon!”
HYGIENISTS: Please read the above. Fill in the gaps for things you feel would be appropriate and helpful and send it to me. We will either have you each record the script separately and I will edit you together or we will have you record it on Friday during a break at the meeting. I would like this post to be on our Social Media no later than Monday morning.
Thank you for your help!!
4/22/2020 (Part 2)
FYI, in case you would like more information and were not aware.
This new directive became effective at 12:01 am on 4/22/2020 and stays in effect until 5/1/2020
Return to work directive-April 21
Part of our Zoom call tomorrow will be the Doctors discussing safety measures they are implementing to get back to work. However, we want the call to be brief and want to hear from each of you so we will go into more detail at our “Back to Work” meeting on 5/1/2020.
I have heard many people in the dental community express excitement about getting back to work. I hope our team has equal excitement and a “CAN DO” attitude. 🙂
4/22/2020
Happy Wednesday!!
For today, I thought I’d share some light-hearted content to brighten your day:
Check out this video:
Also, a caution: Be careful of what you focus your attention to on Social Media. I know for me, it either creates confusion and/or irritation. There is much speculation out there.
We continue to research legitimate resources for our decision making. We have spoken with local legislators and kept up to date on OSHA and ADA recommendations. It is our desire to get back to work as safely and quickly as we can. 🙂
As always, Be safe and especially Be Kind. Think the best before you think the worst – what can it hurt???
4/20/2020
Happy VIP Anniversary Day!!!
Enjoy the Spring Flowers coming up – sorry we can’t give you one as planned today.
It is sad we are missing another Celebration day, BUT there are great things on the Horizon! 😊
VIP UPDATE: As of today, we are planning on being open May 4th for patients!!!! (SO EXCITING!!) We’d like to kick off being back to work with a team training on May 1st. Things are constantly changing but that is the current plan.
We’d also like to have a “Virtual” Meet Up this Thursday, April 23rd at 11:00 AM.
Mostly just a check in to see how things are going, what you are doing for fun, what has been your favorite part of quarantine, etc. A link will be texted to you to join the meeting. You can use a computer and join via the Zoom website or you can download the app to a mobile device.
For today, I’d like you to make sure you are up-to-date on all previous assignments that have been posted. I have received emails from some of you and look forward to receiving more. 😊
Add’l sources for CE: VIVA Learning
Be wise when viewing these videos. Yes, they are sponsored by different products/companies.
Focus on videos that will benefit you, our patients, and the practice.
Take Care! Be Kind! Stay Healthy!!
4/18/2020
I felt this is beneficial information for all to consider:
STOP BEFORE YOU SPEND THAT STIMULUS CHECK & READ THIS:
Repost from a Dave Ramsey financial group which I thought would be beneficial to people that are not aware.
“GOVERNMENT STIMULUS CHECK INFORMATION
So here’s what’s up:
- To Tenants: If the government says you don’t have to pay your rent and there’s a ban on evictions, you better do whatever you can to pay your rent. There will be major repercussions when eviction bans are lifted. Don’t think you’ll get a free ride out of this.
PAY YOUR RENT! Your landlord has bills to pay too. - To Homeowners: If the government tells banks to stop mortgage payments, DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO PAY YOUR MORTGAGE!. Some lenders are saying you don’t have to pay for 3 months, but on the 4th month, all four payments are due in full. Do not take a chance and not pay. Major foreclosures will come from all this. The banks didn’t help homeowners in 2008-2009 and in 2020, it’s still the same.
Pay your mortgage. - If the utility company suspends payments, you better pay any amount you can! They are like banks, they will want their money eventually and when all this clears up, you’ll owe an exorbitant bill and still won’t have any utilities. Pay whatever you can.
- If you get a government stimulus check, this check is to help pay your bills. That means you pay your rent, your mortgage, your utilities, your insurance, your car payment, your bills.
This is not for frivolous spending. - The real problem is, many who will get the stimulus check….won’t pay their bills then will be crying and wailing saying
“They evicted me. They cut off my power, they repossessed my car…”
All while you’re broke and carrying that empty purse you bought with your stimulus check.
It’s not a “free for all”. Think wisely!👍
PAY YOUR BILLS!!!!
There’s always FREE cheese in a mouse trap!
4/17/2020
Please complete the tasks associated with your job title.
ASSISTANTS:
We are trying to complete the Assistant manual. These are some areas that we need help with:
-How to take an anterior PA (Pg. 20
-How to take a posterior PA (pg. 20)
-Scanning, Printing, Emailing x-rays (pg. 28)
-How to use the Intra Oral Camera (pg. 30)
**I know this will be somewhat challenging without being in the office and having the software/tools right in front of you, but do your best! I believe in you!! 🙂
Submit to: ismile.tiffany@gmail.com
HYGIENISTS:
Mikelle ran into some issues with her nanny and feels it will be best to no longer have a set schedule with us. She is happy to be our “Go-to” temp, though.
For your assignment, please have a “Meeting” to discuss possible solutions to this new situation. We’d like you to take the initiative for your department to be sure all involved are providing the experiences you want ALL of our patients to have. Please keep in mind the goals and vision of the office.
Meeting options are: Zoom, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, and a myriad of others. 🙂 I am sure you can find a way to make this happen.
Please let the doctors know when the meeting happens and what solutions come about.
**Feel free to discuss any other topics at this meeting that would be helpful in your department: training of assistants, fluoride acceptance, Perio acceptance, etc.
ADMIN TEAM:
Please watch videos of dental treatment: (There are many sources for this info online.)
-Root Cancel Treatment
-Crown Prep and Seat
-Filling Prep
-Scaling and Root Planing/Perio Therapy
TAKE CARE! Be healthy and Kind out there!!
4/15/2020
Listen to this great presentation on providing exceptional client experiences.
Send me answers to these questions:
What experience would I like the patients I interact with to have?
What type of experience am I trying to provide?
How can I provide better experiences for patients?
How can we attract the “right customer”?
When was the last time you asked for feedback from a patient?
What ideas do you have for innovation that can improve patient experiences?
What is the cost involved in the innovation?
Email: ismile.tiffany@gmail.com
]4/13/2020
Here is a great presentation on relationship building.
Consider:
-Where you are
-Where you’d like to be
-How this information might help you improve your relationships.
Greetings VIP Family,
Many of you are having questions on what to do about receiving paychecks. Here is what VIP Smiles has done. We applied for and got approved for the Paycheck Protection Program loan which allows us to pay employee salaries for 8 weeks. We will be paying you what your average paycheck has been over the last year (that is what they based our loan off of), if you want to know the amount you will be making, you may call or text Dr Rick (801) 814-4391 or Dr Shad (801) 540-7880 to know the exact amount you will be receiving. Doing this will make sure you have employment for when we are able to open our doors again.
The government put this loan into place to avoid burdening the unemployment offices that are already overwhelmed. We are doing our part by not laying anyone off and keeping our office ready to work when we are once again allowed to. If we are still unable to open by the time 8 weeks is over, then unemployment will be an option for you unless more loans are made available.
Our desire is to take care of our employees and patients here at VIP and we felt this would be the best way to do it. If you desire to quit instead of getting paid what you averaged, that is your choice. It will affect unemployment eligibility. We will have to say that we are not laying anyone off, as we are following the governments recommendation to keep people employed. If you quit, we won’t hold a guaranteed spot for your employment when things return back to “normal”. We hope this helps answer some questions and ease some stress for you and your family at this uncertain time.
In order to qualify for the loan as well as forgiveness at the end, we cannot have some employees on unemployment and some on regular payroll. If that happens, we will not qualify for the loan forgiveness and there will be steep repayments, other employees that have been working would not receive pay and we would not be able to take care of patients that need us during this crisis. Plus it would impact our ability to come back effectively.
We have consulted with several experts on this topic. We have watched webinars and done research. We have come to the decision that we would like to take care of our employees for as long as possible.
Thanks for all you have done, we will continue to try to keep all informed as we learn more as well. We will continue to pray for all of us and the economy!
Keep smiling,
Dr. Shad and Dr. Rick
4/10/2020
Greetings VIP Family,
Today we were approved for the loan and it will shortly be funded. We were thrown a bit of a curve ball over how it would work, so this last pay period, you will receive a portion of your check to cover from Mar 23- Apr 7, it will not be your full check, but it should be close to what unemployment would have paid you. This is coming straight from the doctors, we wish we could do more, but that is what we could do. It will be direct deposited as normal into your accounts–those who get paper checks, they are in the lockers, we will be in office on Monday and Wednesday this week for sure for part of the day.
The loan should cover 8 weeks of paychecks, probably not the full amount, but it will be 75% or greater of the average amount of your paychecks.
We will continue to work on emergencies trying for Mon and Wed appointments and also on an on-call basis. We will continue to have a rotating schedule. The office could still use some clean-up and preparation before we open the doors. If anyone is at high risk, or lives with high risk persons, please do not come into the office.
Now that the loan is approved, we do ask that those of you who are not coming into the office, please review your own office goals and/or review anything that will help us stay sharp and ready to go when we open again. You can find dental youtube videos to watch how procedures are done, review different aspects of dentistry to better communicate with patients and of course practice/roleplay our VIP scripts so they do not get lost and forgotten.
We are not giving up on our 2020 goals and celebrations–but we will need to work extra hard to make up for this time lost. Try to get in some good personal health habits now too, we will need all of us healthy for the rest of the year.
And again, if anyone has any financial concerns/obligations you need help with during this time please do not hesitate to call Dr. Shad (801) 540-7880 or Dr. Rick (801) 814-4391 and we will help arrange something for you.
We appreciate all you have done for us and our VIP family! We look forward to overcoming this and we are excited to move forward with our 2020 celebrations as a team!
Meanwhile, stay healthy, stay sane and keep smiling!
Dr Shad and Rick Ingram
4/8/2020
Please watch this video and take notes. (I know the quality isn’t the best, but I had to reduce the size to get it to fit on the blog.)
Link to EQ Article:
◦https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/emotional-intelligence-eq.htm
Please look into your Emotional Intelligence and see what you can do to improve it.
Another great source with tips on how to improve EQ, self-assessments, and lots of research info. https://positivepsychology.com/emotional-intelligence-eq/
4/7/2020
Listen to these 2 audio clips. (Had to split in 2 parts so they would fit on the blog.)
Please take notes on this presentation from John Choate.
What did you like?
What didn’t you like?
What would you like to implement?
How does this relate to you personally as well as professionally?
Email a brief summary of your insights to: ismile.tiffany@gmail.com
4/3/2020
We are switching up the assistant schedule a bit. For now (be aware everything is subject to change 🙂 ) this is what it will be:
Mon: Aly & Aislinn (On call for emergencies)
Tues: Laura (On call for emergencies)
Wed: Laura & Brooklyn (On call for emergencies)
Thur: Whitley (On call for emergencies)
Friday: Brooklyn & Aly (On call for emergencies)
We initially wanted to see emergencies on Mon, Wed, and Fri but if it continues the way it has been that may not work. This week we have seen 4-6 patients every day so we really need you available on the days you are on on call.
4/3/2020
Stay Healthy Challenge #1:
Our 3 goals during the downtime are to
(1) Stay Healthy
(2) Stay Connected
(3) Training
For this weekend, we challenge each of you to walk for 30 minutes each day and drink 8 glasses of water (or the amount you feel your body needs to be healthy)
4/3/2020
This will be the place you will find updates during the downtime with the office. We plan to post as often as we can. We will be posting CE, Communication, training materials, Team challenges, and anything else I can think of.
Stay safe! We miss you and our amazing patients. I consider this a great learning opportunity. The only way it is a tragedy is if we come out on the other side exactly the same and no better for our struggles.
Don’t just get through each day – take on the day with enthusiasm and excitement for what it has in store and how you will be better because you lived it!