HCD Headlines 6-9-2026

Rachael
19 hours ago
6 min read

June Schedule

We're excited to have Kaitlyn back with us beginning Monday, June 8th! We also have multiple team members out at various times, so please keep an eye out for when you're scheduled to be here this month.

Practice by Numbers Usage

We have run into a few problems with team members signing into PbN every day. We need everyone signed in under their name. For assistants, please log into the operatory you plan to be in for a majority of the day. The only floating person is Lawrence. I know he's usually signed into the lab computer.

We have had confusion and stress over not being able to find people or getting responses to emergency messages because people are not logged in and/or are not paying attention. This increases the stress level for everyone - I know you can describe how it's made you feel when caught in the same situation.

So as a kindness to your team, a commitment to each other, and to keep yourself in the loop, you must sign in as yourself in the main operatory or workstation that you will be at every day.

Introducing Cherry Financing!

We have started a new 3rd party financial option for our patients looking for a payment plan. It is call Cherry Financing and will be our 1st go-to for patients that need financing.

PROS:

Higher approval rating: Instead of needing a credit rating of 580+ for approval, they approve people as low as 430.
True 0% APR: Not a deferred interest plan. If they miss a payment, interest will start that day!
Lower transaction fees: This is more of an admin thing, but it is much less than CareCredit which is a great thing for us!
Very fast approval: We can submit the link to their phone or use the link on our website in order for people to apply. It doesn't matter where they are or if we do it as dental professionals, it's solely based on their credit score and not location of application.

CONS:

This is a payment plan for only HCD. It is not like a healthcare credit card that can be used at other offices.
If a patient uses Cherry at another office, they will have to apply for a new payment plan with us. It is not a line of credit. It will expire within 120 days of the original approval.

Presentation:

Although this is a great payment option for our patients, please remember it's not the 1st option. The best option for the patient and HCD is cash, check, or credit card. If those options don't work, we can then present this option as a payment plan similar to Klarna.

This is wording from Cherry that can help you present as clinicians to at least introduce patients to this new option:

We can get you set up with a payment plan through Cherry. Cherry takes 60 seconds to apply and doesn't affect your credit. Once you're approved, It will show you the amount your approved for with monthly payments and often times patients even get 0% options. Would you like me to send you the application?

Here's a video on how to apply for Cherry.

https://vimeo.com/655441920

We will practice this as a team over the next couple of weeks. For now, the front desk has been great at presenting this option to our patients and can help answer your questions. We hope to receive physical papers to pass this onto those patients that prefer paper over digital. Otherwise, everything is digital with this program.

Summer Health Wellness Challenge

Thank you to the SHWC Committee for putting all this together for us this year! I have copied what was sent so we have another place to look for answers. The sweet Excel sheet was put together by Ze for those of us that prefer digital.

Wellness Challenge

Within the 12 weeks- if you do something active with at least every team member 1 time- you can get 1,000 points
If you work out with a team member during the week you can get 50 points- BUT you can only count that team member 1x for the week. Not to say that you can’t work out with them everyday- but, you can only count the points with them 1x that week. But, you can go with a different team member everyday and get 50 points each day if it’s with a different team member
You can get 10 points for eating a fruit and 10 points for eating a vegetable- but can only count it 1x/ day- so, you can get 20 points for eating a fruit and a vegetable- but if you eat more than 1 fruit and more than 1 vegetable- it won’t count for more points.
Hikes count for more points. Based on elevation gain. 100 points per 1,000 feet of elevation gain
You can get points for weight lifting- 100 points per day. And must be at least an hour.
If you sign up for a class or recreational team you can get 100 points.
We will have group outings every Saturday- if you go to that you can get 100 points+ whatever points you would get from the activity we are doing that day.
Bike ride 50 points per miles ridden
For every 10 ounces of water you drink/day it’s 10 points.
If you pray, meditate, or journal during the day at a minimum of 20 minutes- you can get 50 points.
If you write 3 things you’re grateful for everyday you can get 30 points- they must be different everyday and you have to do all 3 to get the points.
If you get 2,500 steps it’s 25 points, 5,000 is 50, 7,500 is 75, and 10,000 steps in a day it’s 100 points.
100 points for every mile you run.
If you get at least 7 hours of sleep between the hours of 8pm and 8am you can get 70points. You have to get the full 7 hours to get the full points. You must be in bed actively trying to sleep to start the clock. No phones or anything if you want to start the clock.
For every hour you read a book of your choice- you can get 60 points. Have to read the full hour to get the full points.
If you sign up for an art class or take an art class online you can get 100 points per creative project you finish.

NO rounding up. If you want the points you have to hit the actual amount. Examples: if you're at 95 ounces of water- you have to drink an extra 5 ounces to make it to the next marker. Same goes for any of the other categories.

Let [Natalie] know if you have any questions! Remember honesty and integrity is how this will work ❤️❤️

Post Operative Care Cards

Please remember to use our post-op care cards located in the sterilization lab. We have some for oral surgery, sinus lifts, occlusal guards, kid's hygiene, adult hygiene, cat hygiene, whitening, immediate dentures, and complete dentures. We have LOTS of cards for almost every procedure we do! Please use these cards every time to help improve the post op experience for our patients.

The QR codes will link to our website. If someone loses their card, they can go to our site and from the Patients Menu select "Patient Post-Operative Instructions."

401(k) Participation

I have fielded a few requests regarding participation in the 401(k) plan. I have requested American Funds send information to your personal email so you can see how to participate. It will include information on the app, forms to fill out, and contacts to use when it comes to questions about the participating, increasing/decreasing amounts, and more.

Keep an eye out for that email coming from American Funds, Travis Warnock and/or Julie Cook.

Appointment Book Protocol

A few reminders when it comes to the our communication protocol in the Appointment Book (AB):

When rescheduling patients, make a note in the appointment and in the AB Note at the bottom.
Status - If the patient is in the chair, the status should be SEATED. This has caused confusion when looking for help, providers, etc.
Scheduling Appts: Keep the provider the same as the provider in the Family File. Change the provider in the appointment once the patient is seated.
Rescheduling Hygiene: Keep the patients with their provider in the Family File UNLESS the patient requests to be switched to the new hygienist. We are still seeing a few problems with when it comes to rescheduling. The appointment is scheduled with the new provider, but the Family File still lists the old provider.
Watch EXAMS! Keep away from Monday mornings and avoid more than 2 exams across the ENTIRE schedule! This includes comp exams in the doctor chairs.