May 2002 Newsletter

Although one would think that this being my final Presidents Message for the Middlesex County Dental Society it would be the easiest to write. But alas one would be incorrect. This message is met with bittersweet feelings since although writing a message monthly on a deadline (thanks Bob and Mitch for your patience) is a somewhat arduous task, I enjoy writing for my audience: you. You the members of Middlesex County Dental Society, the other components and the officers and staff of the New Jersey Dental Association have given me the motivation to come up with some commentary on a topic that I hope was interesting or at least timely and current. I really enjoyed writing the messages and sharing my thoughts and ideas with you. Please join us for this years Staff Appreciation Night. This is an opportunity to join with colleagues and their staffs for an evening of good food, fun, and socializing. The installation of officers will also take place that evening so please join us in congratulating our new officers. I would like to thank the Executive Board of Middlesex County Dental Society for their hard work and attention to detail. We truly work as a team, helping each other for the benefit of the society.
I am proud to have served as your President.
Faithfully,
Dr. Peter L DeSciscio

Attendance: Bloom, Brunsden, Chustckie, DeSciscio, Glickman, Huberman, Kahn, Kline, Lawson, Leizer, Prabhu, Pollatos, Rosen, Schambra, Silverstein, Villa, Weiner, Ziemba
Acceptance of Minutes-3/12/02-vote unanimous.
President’s Report-P. DeSciscio
• We received an application for the Access Recognition Award
• On Monday, May 6th, Michelle Miller, who is graduating from Middlesex County College’s Hygiene School, will receive an award for achieving the highest class GPA.
Content Editor’s Report-M. Weiner
• We will begin promoting our next full day course, which will be presented by Dr. Dennis Tarnow in February 2003, starting with the April 2002 newsletter
• The March 2002 issue of our newsletter was sent to non-members to show the benefits of membership in MCDS
• In order to receive the $36 per staff charge, payment must be received before 4/26/02. After that date the charge will be $42 per staff member
ADPAC Report-P. DeSciscio
NJDA PAC Night at the Races Fund Raiser will take place at the Pegasus at the Meadowlands Raceway on Wed., April 24, 2002. This is our fundraiser and we need member support
Special Olympics-C. Brunsden
NJDA/NJ Special Olympics Silent Auction – Wed. 6/12/02 – Thurs. 6/13/02.
Proceeds will benefit NJ Special Olympics. Last year’s auction raised $12,000 as a direct response from our members. This year we are seeking contributions to enable us to have an even greater success. Please consider making a donation or contribution.
Contact: Chairpersons Dr. & Mrs. Carmine LoMonico at 973-228-3380
NJDA Council Reports:
Annual Session-A. Ziemba
Plan ahead and save the date:
• Annual Session will be held June 12th –14th in Atlantic City at the Taj Mahal.
• There will be a free Wine & Cheese Party on Wednesday, June 10th
• UMDNJ Dental Alumni Luncheon on Wednesday, June 10th
• The fabulous Greaseband will perform at the President’s Dinner Dance on Thurs. June 13, 2002.
• Lecture schedule headliners:
1. Dr. Stanley Malamed – Wed. June 12th
2. Dr. Karl Leinfelder & Dr. Paul Des Jardins – Thurs. June 13th
3. Dr. Fotinos Panagakos – Fri. June 14th
Children’s Dental Health-C. Brunsden
Over 300 children have been selected to represent their schools at this year’s Awards Ceremony. A special dental health stage show, awards and raffle will honor these children and their families at the East Brunswick High School on Thursday, May 14, 2002 at 7:00 pm
Membership-A. Pollatos
The next Council on Membership Meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2002
MCDS Committee Reports:
Corporate Sponsorship-J. Chustckie
We will have two sponsors at the April General Meeting at the Pines Manor. (Americus Dental Laboratory and OrthoCad Company).
Mentor-E. Glickman
The Mentor Programs for Spring 2002 that are being presented are:
• What Makes An Effective Leader – Thursday, April 11, 2002
• Two Annual OSHA Seminars – Thursday, April 18, 2002 and June 20, 2002
• Using Feng Shui to enhance our Dental Practices – Thursday, May 9, 2002
More information about the seminars are in this May MCDS Newsletter
We were very fortunate to have Theresa Martinez speak to the 34 members who attended on Thursday, April 11, 2002 on “What Makes An Effective Leader” - Are we smart enough and can we get SMARTER? at St. Peter’s Medical Center, New Brunswick NJ. Ms. Martinez presented a very exciting and informative program about “Emotional Intelligence” [EQ] – The ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively. The entire audience felt energized after this stimulating two-hour presentation. Robert Cooper Ph. D. from Executive EQ describes EQ as follows, “ It is not enough, of course, just to have feelings. Emotional Intelligence requires that we learn to acknowledge and value feelings – in ourselves and others – and that we appropriately respond to them, effectively applying the information and energy in our daily life and work.”
It is important to combine IQ with EQ for the complete picture, to enable us to take in the critical information that emotions provide and use this information to help navigate through relationships and situations thereby making better decisions, which is a key benefit! A better understanding of our EQ will help us to expand our individual knowledge, capability, and skill in leadership and provide ideas to help us develop Emotional Intelligence, recognize and coach it in others, and use it to help manage office, home or family conflicts.
We broke out into groups of two and shared experiences about how we currently assess our skills of EQ relating to Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social-Awareness and our Social Skills. Later we formed six groups and brainstormed three Case Studies. The first was coaching a dentist who has lost 5 receptionists and a Hygienist who left mid-floss this year and still has not found replacements. The second case was suggestions for interview questions for a hygienist opening that would lead to better understanding of the candidate’s EQ. The third case concerned Office Conflict and suggestions to diffuse the tensions and begin to resolve the conflict and discuss how low EQ is affecting the situation.
This program was not “read & hear all about it”; it was experiential!! Members approached me after the seminar and commented that this was a great program, different from any other programs that they have attended and that they would like to see more of these programs in the future because this is a topic that needs further understanding and discussion.
Due to this enthusiastic response I will plan future programs like this EQ presentation with Ms. Martinez such as Performance Assessment & Evaluations. If you would like a bibliography on “EQ” or the questionnaire given to those who attended the EQ program on Emotional Literacy that asks us to describe the way we currently think or feel about ourselves concerning Intra-Personal Awareness & Emotional Awareness of Others; please contact Marlene, our Executive Secretary
@ 732-238-1255
The Mentor Programs for Fall 2002 that are being developed are:
• Linda Lakin - Practice Management – Thursday, Nov. 14, 2002
• Positive Motivation – Julian Ernest & Corrine Engel - Toronto, Canada
• The Andrews Bar & Sleeve Bridge – Dr. James Andrews - Nov. 2002
Continuing Education-M. Schambra
Our MCDS Executive Secretary has applied to the State Board of Dentistry for approval of 7 CEU credits for Dr. Tarnow’s full day course on Friday, Feb. 21, 2003
Job Bank-C. Bloom
• The Job Bank has not been successful. There have not been enough applicants seeking positions as assistants and hygienists
• Further complicating the situation, perspective employers have not notified our secretary as to whether they have hired someone or are still looking to fill the position
• The Executive Board took a vote and agreed to discontinue the Job Bank and focus our efforts on trying to recruit more people who are interested in a career in dentistry. Dr. Charles Bloom will attempt to work with Dr. Carolyn Breen, who runs an assistant’s training program at UMDNJ. We will also contact local high schools and offer a training program. If successful, this would be of minimal cost to our dental society and provide a steady flow of well trained assistants into the job market
Old Business
• We are working on creating a complete document outlining the Rules of the Board. Each position will be clearly defined, thus making for an easier transition when assuming a new position on the board.
Respectfully submitted,
Mitch Weiner, DMD,
Secretary

The Board has had several instances in which an associate was fined for an advertisement placed by the practice owner without showing the advertisement to, or otherwise notifying, the associates. Then the practice owner signed a uniform penalty letter addressed to the associate without the associate's knowledge. The Board decided it will correspond with each licensee and allow them to respond before the penalty is assigned as to whether they were individually responsible. Second, the Dental Education committee made a motion to waive the Northeast regional requirement for dental hygienists if they have a license in another state. They have decided to grant national licensure by credentials. The vice president felt that NJDA should publicize this on our website for people that might be considering moving to New Jersey. We need all the hygienists we can get and he feels another roadblock has been removed from licensure.
A question came up on how we could help with the issuance of new licenses for hygienists and whether it is okay to accept and start work without one. Mr. Meisel reminded everyone that the Board does not control the issuance of license certificates. That is done by the Division of Consumer Affairs. It was stated that the State Board would probably address the issue on a case-by-case basis. If there is a problem, it was suggested that they call Kevin Earle or Ceil.
Review of Councils
In reviewing the Councils, the following recommendations were made:
• The Council on Annual Session should remain the same with the exception of establishing a subcommittee to make recommendations and coordinate programming for speakers.
• The Council on Communications should be eliminated but, in turn, an Editorial Board of 3 dentists (in addition to the current editor) should be created to provide oversight and recommendations to all publications.
• The Council on Dental Benefit Programs should be maintained.
• The Council on Dental Education and Council on Dental Health should be combined under the Council on Dental Education.
• The Council on Governmental Affairs should be maintained.
• The Council on Insurance should be eliminated. If any pressing insurance issues arise, a Task Force can be formed.
• The Council on Long Range Planning should be eliminated, however, a Task Force on Strategic Planning should be formed every three years to update the Strategic Plan. The responsibility of implementing the Plan and reporting back to the Board falls upon the Executive Director.
• The Council on Membership should remain, however, a subcommittee consisting of at least three new dentists should be formed to make recommendations and/or assist in implementing programs to the Council as they relate to new dentists. It was suggested that a subcommittee on retention be formed and, possibly, a subcommittee on recruitment.
• The Council on Nominations should remain.
• The Council on Peer Review should be eliminated. However, if a problem cannot be handled within the normal process, it would be brought to the Board.
• It was suggested that the Council on Relief be eliminated, if permitted by the Indenture of Trust, and replaced by a Standing Committee of the Board consisting of five dentists who do not need to be members of the Board.
• The Judicial Council should remain but the Chairperson's Council and Past Presidents Council should be eliminated.
Review Standing Committees of the Board
• In reviewing the Standing Committees of the Board, it was proposed that the following
• Should be maintained: the Committee on Rules and Order, the Committee on Chemical Dependency Program, and the Committee on Medicare and Medicaid.
• The Committee on Finance and Investments should remain, however, the number of Trustees who serve should be reduced to two rather than three and the immediate Past President should be added as a member of the Committee.
• The Executive Committee should remain, however, it should be composed of the elective officers, two trustees (rather than three) and the Executive Director as ex officio member.
• The Committee on Conflict of Interest should be eliminated.
• The Staff Review Committee should be eliminated and replaced with a Personnel Committee that will be composed of the President, President-Elect and Vice President. The purpose of this committee is to review benefits, including the employee manual.
• It was suggested that the Committee on Interdisciplinary Affairs be eliminated.
Elective Officers & Trustees Review
• To assign the Secretary more duties, it was suggested he serve as Chairman of the Council on Membership. The Board expressed its concern as membership is a core activity and continuity of a chairman on the Council on Membership is critical. It was then suggested that the Secretary serve as a vice-chair.
• It was suggested that officers who go through the chairs should serve a year as Secretary and a year as Treasurer rather than two years in one position as has been the practice. It can serve as a learning experience as the officer goes through the chairs.
• It was suggested to assign each elective office and trustee to serve as a member of at least one Council and/or Standing Committee.
• Dr. Riva, Chair of the Task Force on Governance, will put together a report for the April Board of Trustees meeting.
Dr. Maxine Feinberg attended the ADA President-Elect's conference in Chicago and found it to be interesting, informative and beneficial. She reported that on many levels the constituents are all facing the same issues and in retrospect to what was discussed earlier regarding updating our restructuring of councils, etc., many constituents have go to executive committees or paid employees. She also felt that other constituents have a far greater problem with waste water in dental systems and with the shortage of dental assistants than New Jersey has. At the ADA meeting, a dental manpower survey from 1999 was distributed showing that New Jersey was probably the best state in which to practice.
The NJDA officers for 2002-3 will be as follows:
President-Elect – John Graeber, DMD
Vice President – Jeffrey H. Rempell, DMD
Secretary – Frank J. Graham, DMD
Treasurer – August D. Pellegrini, DDS
Speaker – Walter I. Chinoy, DMD
The Coordination of Benefits regulation has been adopted by the Department of Banking & Insurance and has been sent to the Office of Administrative Law for publication in the April 1 New Jersey Register.
Dr. Cecelia Feldman, NJDS Dean, addressed the Board on two items. First, she informed the Board that the Governor of New Jersey created a commission on health education to look at the health education in the State and to make recommendation on how best to serve the State. One issue being considered is a merger of UMDNJ with Rutgers University. Both UMDNJ and Rutgers are well respected nationally. There are many positives. The principal downside is loss of autonomy. However, the dental school is moving ahead with its building plan. The commission should have its recommendation by the end of the year. The commission will consist of approximately 10 to 15 people. The overriding issue is governance.
The second item concerned the NERB exams. The American Association of Dental Examiners is talking to the chairman of NERB to change the format. Rather than the exam being held on two consecutive days, it would be held on two different days; i.e. the manikin portion taken in the Fall and patient care later in the Winter. NJDS will be working with NERB to be a pilot site.

MCDS COLLEAGUE PROGRAM
Please become part of the Middlesex County Dental Society Colleague Program.
By sharing the wisdom gained through our individual experiences of managing a Dental Practice, we can help our member colleagues’ meet the many challenges that they may encounter. This will become a very valuable benefit for our members of MCDS. Complete this form and fax it to the MCDS fax line @ 732-390-2332 or call Dr. Ethan Glickman 732-572-4244
Name ____________________________________Office Phone _______________
Office Address ________________________________________________________
Type of Practice / Years in Practice _______________________________________
Name of Dental School / Year Graduated ___________________________________
I am seeking the advice of a Mentor______ I would like to be a Mentor _____
The goals of the MCDS Colleague Program are:
1. Promote camaraderie and a feeling of belonging to the dental community.
2. Introduce the benefits of organized dentistry, including the many resources that are available to our younger new dentists.
3. Serve as a resource for practice-related questions and concerns.

Dentist Wanted
Work in a high tech, modern, fee for service practice - 3 days.
Future F/T & Partnership
South Shore, Staten Island
Call 718-356-1733 or Fax 718-317-7631

Dental office space to lease
in a space sharing relationship. Brand new, high-tech general dental office, main floor, in upscale medical building. Immediate occupancy available. Call me at phone listed below.
Barbara M. Latina, D.M.D.
Choices in Dentistry
Summerhill Medical Arts Building
172 Summerhill Road, Suite 6
East Brunswicck, NJ 08816
(732)-257-5444 Fax (732)-257-7687
www.barbaralatinadmd.com

	(3/9/02)	(4/8/02)
Checking	21,698.04	15,855.11
Money Market	51,670.97	60,981.82
TOTAL	73,369.01	76,836.93

May 2002 Newsletter

President's Message

Hello... I must be going

MCDS Board of Trustees Report

Treasurer's Report

Balances

NJDA Board of Trustees Report

Announcements