Panel Discussion

Lots of stuff to talk about today. And I leave room for you to disagree with me. There is no one who is right in this environment. Every decision that we make impacts us and everyone around us. Probably the most important thing to do is to make a decision. You can always change that decision if you need to.

We talked about staff. And, in my opinion, staff comes first. We need staff. We handpicked our staff. And our staff is the most vulnerable at this time. No work, no school, no income is a rough proposition for them. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a rough proposition for us as well. Danyel has done a great job of talking to staff to find out what they need. They no that there is a limited budget (We’ll see if the government loans/payments come through. If they do, that will make it easier for all of use.) So when she surveyed staff, she found some that were willing to stay home. Instantly, with that phone call, we could reduce our payroll. Then she found out the minimum that each other staff member needed. And together, we cobbled a reduced schedule so that everyone who needed to work could be productive. Remember there is a long-term to this. We will be back at work. So here are some of the projects we’re working on:

1. Rescheduling patients–We’re rescheduling them after May 8, which is currently the first day that we come back. Of course, that could change.
2. Writing letters to each patient. This is an ongoing project as discussed in Member Advisory #10.
3. Doing price comparisons on products from supplier to supplier. I don’t want to emphasize this too much. It’s more important, in my opinion, to provide support to one major supplier who will not only help us through this crisis, but also provides us with equipment repair. Saving money is only one factor, and often a minor factor at that.

I listened to a lecture by Dr. Les Fang, a virologist, sponsored by the Seattle Study Club. The lecture wasn’t recorded. It was excellent. One thing appears clear to me from that lecture. We will not be practicing dentistry exactly the same as we did before the crisis. In my opinion, we’ll be using N95 masks for every procedure that produces an aerosol. We’ll likely be fully covered. Take a look at the middle left inset of the cover of the March 30, 2020 edition of People Magazine. https://www.google.com/search?q=people+magazine+cover+March+30+2020&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjIkMOAnrPoAhXQhlMKHRF7DNAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=people+magazine+cover+March+30+2020&gs_l=img.3…72274.78177..78667…2.0..0.142.1399.13j2……0….1..gws-wiz-img…….0j0i8i30.hcdLBTA959g&ei=eA16Xsj0MdCNzgKR9rGADQ&bih=881&biw=1745&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS806US806#imgrc=B_GnZ5HFbxBfQM

That’s how we’ll be dressed. Therefore, I am contacting our supplier, Benco, today to get on the list for all the personal protective equipment necessary so that we can get back to work as soon as possible after the outbreak is over.

We are having daily staff meetings with core staff on Zoom at 7:15 AM every day. This gives us an opportunity to get together, support each other, and see where we can provide a little guidance and a little reassurance.