HCD Headlines 12-4-2023

Rachael
Dec 4, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Dec 4, 2023

Welcome to December, HCD! We start the month out with new team members and a party coming up this Friday! Super excited for that! And a HUGE thank you to Jillian, Kristin, DAW, and Hanna for coordinating this event for both offices - you da best!

Details:

Date: 12/8/2023

Location: Corks & Hops, 12551 Old Glenn Hwy Unit A, Eagle River, AK 99577

Dress: Christmas sweaters - ugly or classy

Games: Bring 1 gift valued at no more than $25.00 for White Elephant

December Schedule

Lots of moving pieces for the month of December as is typically the case with the last month of the year. Please remember to speak with Kolina directly if you have any changes to your schedule or needs days off. She is our Schedule Guru and will be there to help answer questions or figure out days with you as needed.

CEREC Maintenance

Quick reminder for our clinicians utilizing the CEREC milling units. Please remember to clean them out either immediately (zirconia) or as frequently as needed to prevent build-up or other issues that may arise with use. HERE is a great site from Dentsply Sirona with instructions on how to clean the milling units. The better we are at maintaining the CEREC machines, the longer the life span of each machine and fewer avoidable disruptions in its use.

Warm Water in the Operatories

We are working to get the water cooler's hot water dispenser fixed right now. Gentle reminder to not use HOT water in any water bottles in the clinic. Only WARM water should be used or a mix of cold and hot dispensed from the cooler. If HOT water is placed directly in the bottles, we have learned from experience that the bottles will explode.

If you need a water heater in your room as a hygienist, please let Te know ASAP, and we will work on getting that for you.

Remembering the Details

As we move throughout the office daily, it is very easy to overlook the small details of cleaning on surfaces that we see constantly. Here are a few reminders for us as a team:

Please remember to clean your overhead light after every patient. After cleaning it with the correct wipe, please take a moment to wipe off any streaks that are left behind from the cleaners. The cleaners are bad at leaving the streaks behind, and patients will notice the streaks before we do.
Please take a moment to clean out the sink in your operatory or in the lab. The sinks are not maintained by the janitorial team - that job is on our shoulders. Rinse out the sink every time it's used to prevent major build-up.
There's currently "snow" on our glass doors, but we should still be mindful if we see fingerprints or smears on the glass. Again, we may not notice it immediately, but they stand out and can look like neglect. The glass is typically cleaned by the janitorial team, but it's still good to monitor throughout the day.

Anything we've missed? Let's talk about at the team meeting or next morning huddle as needed. Thank you for paying attention to the details!

Prepping for Treatment

It's been super busy with our doctor teams these past few weeks. We've come up with a few shortcuts to help us be prepared for the next patient. If you see these trays out, please check for your patient's name. They are being set up for all doctors when time allows.

Do you have an idea to help make the schedule or any of our routines smoother or more efficient? Let's hear it!

CE for Providers this Weekend

For our providers that need a few more CE credits this year, here's one coming up this weekend with Gordon Christensen.

Goals for 2024

We will continue our discussion on developing goals as a team and as departments and individuals at our next team meeting. Please carefully consider what your goals will be this year before this next year. Make them meaningful to you. Make them a powerful motivator for you to become the person or team member you'd like to become this next year. Now's the time to make those steps to help you level up to the next best thing in your life, and we're here to support you in that.