Page 9 - Bulletin Vol 25 No 2 - May-Aug 2020 - 9-2-20.pub

A Message from your

Executive Director:

We have just experienced one of the most stressful times in our

careers. The COVID-19 pandemic not only put the health of friends
and families at risk, it shut down our offices to all but urgent and
emergency care for almost three months! Unprecedented! As I write
this, we have made it through the most intense part of the storm.
Offices have reopened. Although our volume is reduced due to the
many new protocols, the good news is patients are calling and
anxious to get back in to see us. Treatment is no longer only for
emergencies but for routine and cosmetic procedures as well. As we grow accustomed to
the new normal, we are slowly inching our way back to pre-COVID production levels.

As I wrote my first message to you, the shutdown was just beginning. I closed that
message saying I believed not only would we survive the storm, we would come out the
other side even stronger. I believe that to be the case. While we still have a way to go to

full recovery, we have seen, as an organization, we can help our members get through
some tough times. Probably the most important role of the Dental Society was to keep you
informed of the rapidly changing regulations, government programs and mandates. We did
this through email blasts and constantly updating our website and Facebook page, which
saw an unprecedented increase in visits. We learned, on the fly, to develop online courses.
Online courses included dental topics, legal and financial ramifications of the COVID-19
shutdown, as well as practice management concerning the reopening of our offices. We
now have a webinar archive section on our website to allow you to view or revisit these
courses. While the printing of our Bulletin was delayed a bit because of COVID-19, it was
sent in May, for the first time, in an electronic Flip Book form. The Bulletin contains
numerous timely articles concerning the COVID-19 crisis.

The constant flow of information from the ADA and NYSDA, along with updates from the

CDC and OSHA, demonstrates the value of membership. The “Interim Return to Work”
Toolkit developed by the ADA was instrumental in helping us reopen safely. In addition,
the ADA launched a Members Only “Patient Return Resource Center” with customizable
communication tools for practices to use as they reopened. While some members felt
NYSDA could have done more to get offices open sooner, I can tell you NYSDA was in
daily contact with the Governor’s office. If it wasn’t for NYSDA’s input, our reopening would
have been much later than June 1. I was able to secure much needed PPE from the
Nassau County Office of Emergency Management and, with the help of several dedicated
volunteers, we distributed PPE free of charge to Nassau County dentists in late May.

Nassau County Dental Society  (516) 227-1112 | 9