Leadership Message

Milestones Passed Help Us Focus on Forward Progress By Adam Low, CEO

2021 marks our two-year anniversary of SENTA Partners! For reaching that milestone and particularly for your work in the past year, I want to thank everyone for your contributions, patience and resilience. Together we supported each other emotionally and professionally. We pulled together and kept our offices open to serve our patients.

As the result of your efforts, we were able to reopen most of the offices to full schedule, including our surgery centers, by June 2020. I am proud that we were able to establish the SENTA Gives program and dedicate $25,000 to support our employees experiencing hardship related to COVID-19 throughout 2020. I want to also recognize Shore Capital, our financial partner, who set up and distributed a number of financial assistance funds for our employees.

Even during the uncertainty and the challenges presented to us by the pandemic, we welcomed three new practices to our affiliation: Piedmont ENT, Atlanta Allergy & Asthma and ENT of South Georgia. We will continue to grow, seeking out practices with goals that are closely aligned to ours and who can benefit from the investments and support we deliver.

Although we are not yet at the halfway point of the year, here are some accomplishments to date:

• We enhanced our leadership team with the great new talent: Len Schiavone, COO; Frank Hutchison, VP of IT; Desmond Brathwaite, Sr. Director of Revenue Cycle; and Rob DeMyers, Associate M&A and Corporate Development.

• Our HR Team and the leaders made sure that employees received valuable performance feedback, and despite the economic environment, we made sure that we designated funds to put towards employees’ merit increases.

• We continue to invest in tools and resources to improve the employee experience: new HR and payroll system, new learning management system, improved group health care benefits and 401(k) plans and provider and strategic investment in new technology and clinical instruments for patient care.

• We ensured that our front line and patient-facing employees had access to the COVID-19 vaccine as soon it became available.

While we are still feeling the impact of the pandemic in our offices, we are focusing on the future and are launching a number of the operational initiatives to support the business and increase patient volume and retention, such as strategic investment in new technologies for patient self-service tools, appointment re-engagement; negative pressure treatment rooms at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma; new clinical instruments and equipment to replace worn/outdated equipment; and IT systems and security improvements.

In addition, we are proud to support innovation in our offices and happy to support our physicians in their quest to elevate the patient experience and further differentiate themselves in the medical community. We are expanding the ENT services within Piedmont ENT for in-office twilight anesthesia procedures; new clinic location for Atlanta Allergy (Athens, Georgia); and the addition of a new physician for NW ENT (August 2021 start date) to expand clinical services in Buckhead, Atlanta.

This list represents only the beginning of what 2021 holds for us and what we can accomplish together. I look forward to seeing the future growth of SENTA and expanding the clinical care to the communities we serve.

Operations SENTer

Patient Reactivation System Reconnecting Patients and Providers By Melissa Grooms, Integrations Director

About three months ago, SENTA implemented Brevium, an automated reactivation/recall system to support the existing electronic medical records (EMR) software at Piedmont ENT. The goal is to automate the process of identifying and contacting those patients who cancelled or didn’t show up or were lost to follow-up. It is working better than I could have predicted; in the first 11 weeks, the system scheduled 500 patients who might otherwise have been missed in the recall and reactivation process.

Each night, the Brevium system pulls information from the EMR for patients who are due for care because of an earlier missed or cancelled appointment. The system then creates either an automated phone call, text or email reminder to that patient. For no additional work on behalf of the scheduling team, we have been able to identify and contact these patients. If these tasks were assigned to staff members, it would be time-consuming and less effective.

From a business standpoint, there’s an obvious bonus to have these patients come back and to make it a seamless process. But from a patient care perspective, the benefits are even more impressive. We can help these patients be more compliant and ensure that their quality of care continues. It’s also helping identify patients who may have had to cancel appointments during the pandemic and didn’t know when or how to reschedule. Plus, it’s so easy for patients to respond to a text or email reminder to be rescheduled for an appointment; they appreciate the reminder and the convenience.

The smart software also continually refines its algorithms, essentially learning how patients respond and prefer to be contacted. Following its highly successful introduction at Piedmont ENT, the Brevium system will next be implemented at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma. It’s been exciting to see how effective this is.

New System, Returning Services By Scott McCutcheon, MHA, Executive Director, Allergy Division

Improving the Patient Scheduling Process

Atlanta Allergy & Asthma (AAA) actively seeks ways to connect and engage with our patients. Patients have said that they often don’t have time to sit on hold to find an appointment time that matches with their hectic schedule. So, we looked to eCW and their Healow Open Access software to make scheduling an appointment easier.

With Open Access, patients can book appointments on the AAA website, log in through Patient Portal or use the Healow app to view schedules and available slots. After that, they will be able to book the slot that works best for them. Initially, this will be available for established patients only. We expect to begin offering this in the next two weeks. Once this functionality has been successfully added, we will begin testing new patient appointment online booking and make that available as well.

Adding this option for AAA patients will greatly improve patient satisfaction by providing them more flexibility as well as eliminating any long waits calling to make an appointment. This option will also keep physician schedules busy and efficient and help our scheduling staff both in Central Appointments and office front desks.

Spirometry Returns

A spirometry test measures how much air you can breathe in and out of your lungs as well as how easily and how fast you can breathe the air out of your lungs. With the COVID-19 pandemic and our concerns about the risks of spreading the virus, AAA was forced to discontinue providing spirometry for our patients.

After researching many options to continue to provide a safe environment and restart this very necessary test for patients, we identified “negative pressure” rooms as the best option. Negative pressure rooms are a type of infection control. Essentially, air is sucked out of the room with an exhaust system that is built with HEPA filters that clean the air. The amount of time needed to effectively clean a room is 15 minutes.

The first offices to have these rooms installed were Kennestone, Rome and Lawrenceville. More rooms are being installed, and over the next four to six weeks, all AAA offices will have one negative pressure room for performing spirometry tests (see calendar below for rollout schedule). We are very excited to have this service available again.

HR SENTer

Complete Your Cybersecurity Training

If you haven’t completed your cybersecurity training yet, please do so by the deadline of May 31. This is a 42-minute online training (log in here using your Kronos’ employee ID and password) to learn how to protect our systems from cybersecurity threats like phishing, fake emails and other ways that hackers use email and more to interrupt and threaten our systems. It is imperative that we, the users, are well educated on how to protect ourselves and the organization from becoming the next victim of the cybersecurity attack.

Communications SENTer

IT Update By Frank Hutchison, VP of Information Technology

Welcome to the new IT 2.0! We are committed to making things simple, sustainable and repeatable as we move forward. Nothing is ever perfect but with careful planning and attention to detail, we believe we will make a difference. For starters, we’re going to consolidate our helpdesk and IT resources under a single managed service provider (MSP). We are working out the final details, but in the next few months, expect to start seeing exciting improvements!

What Patients Say About Piedmont ENT's Front Office Team

The excellent service provided at the Piedmont ENT office does not go unnoticed.

Month at a Glance

Monday, May 31
• Cybersecurity training due

Tuesday, June 1
• Anticipated Brevium go-live: Atlanta Allergy & Asthma

Friday, June 4
• Spirometry installation: Snellville, Stockbridge, Johns Creek

Friday, June 11
• Spirometry installation: Fayetteville, Hamilton Mill, Buckhead

Friday, June 18
• Spirometry installation: Northlake, Douglasville, Sandy Springs

Tuesday, June 22
• Anticipated Phreesia launch: Piedmont

Friday, June 25
• Spirometry installation: Alpharetta, East Cobb, Canton

Friday, July 2
• Spirometry installation: Austell, Woodstock

Practice Spotlight

Northwest ENT & Allergy Center Became First SENTA Partners' Affiliation

Drew Locandro, MD, completed his training in 1989 and joined a group practice in Marietta Georgia. Ten years later that group merged with a large city-wide network. After restructuring in 2001, Dr. Locandro founded Northwest ENT (NW-ENT). The practice grew, adding multiple providers, five office locations in the metro Atlanta area, ancillary services and busy surgery center. “My philosophy has always been that physicians are stronger when we work together. A group practice provides support of colleagues, sharing of ideas and resources.”

Pictured L-R—top row: Dr. Locandro, Dr. Parikh, Dr Kauffman; bottom row: Dr. Ingley, Dr. Stringham and Jeff D'Ambrosio, PA

Today, Dr. Locandro is joined by Shatul L. Parikh, MD; Ryan M. Kauffman, MD; Avani P. Ingley, MD; Brian Stringham, DO; and Jeffrey D’Ambrosio, PA, as well as six audiologists and a caring and dedicated staff in each location. The locations offer a full range of ENT treatments, including allergy, snoring and sleep apnea, voice and swallowing issues, thyroid and parathyroid treatments, pediatric ENT services and an audiology and hearing aid center.

As NW-ENT grew, so did the administrative demands of running a large practice. HR, revenue cycle, finance, real estate, equipment, marketing, compliance and regulatory are a few aspects that require constant attention and good management. NW-ENT become the first group practice to partner with Southern Ear Nose Throat & Allergy (SENTA) in March 2019. ”SENTA provided a level of professional support and management of the business aspects of our practice far above what we could obtain or afford on our own.” SENTA supports its affiliated practices and physician partners with strategic guidance, administrative resources, operating expertise and capital for growth with an absolute focus on clinical quality and a patient-first culture. Since that time, SENTA’s affiliate network has grown to consist of 55 providers at 24 clinical locations and three surgery centers throughout Georgia.

Now Dr. Locandro is a board member and part of the business development team, helping to identify and introduce SENTA to like-minded physician groups willing to consider a management partner. “SENTA physicians are able to concentrate their efforts on patient care and personal goals with full administrative support. Unlike a hospital or multispecialty employment, our physicians not only maintain considerable control of their practice but also have a unique opportunity to own equity in a larger organization with strong financial support and track record of success.”

In Memoriam Remembering Walida Smith-Brice

Northwest ENT employees were saddened by the passing of Walida Smith-Brice, who had been a NW ENT since 2015. Walida was known as a very dedicated, kind, caring and friendly person, who struggled with cancer for a number of years and from complications from the disease.

A memorial service was held for Walida on May 8, 2021. A tribute to her life can be found here.

The SENTA community shares its thoughts and concerns with Walida's family.

Employee Spotlight

Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Has Been Providing Pollen Counts to Atlanta Region for Nearly Four Decades Pictured L-R: Ellena Fowlkes, Kim Norwood, Marie McFalls, Cheryl Lawrence and LaWanda Day

Thirty-seven years ago, Marie McFalls would step out onto her porch in the morning and collect pollen. The physicians at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma had asked her if she was interested in learning about pollen counts, which could help them know more precisely what to test for.

The technology has become more sophisticated—with the testing mechanism and counting lab brought into the office. Today, Atlanta Allergy & Asthma is the official pollen count provider for the city of Atlanta. Every morning, a staff member retrieves a tiny rod—smaller than a toothpick—from a roto-rod with a retractable head. The arm has been rigged to a garage door opener to lower and return the head and collecting rod. Throughout the day, the device spins 30 seconds out of every 10 minutes for a period of 24 hours. When the tiny catching device is replaced every morning, the team can count the pollens captured the day before.

The pollens collected are covered with Calberla's Stain that is absorbed by the proteins in the pollen, which turn the pollens red. A trained pollen counter can identify about 19 different kinds of tree pollens, along with weeds, grasses and molds. In the Atlanta area, weed and grass pollens are high right now. “Molds are a constant,” Marie says.

Marie became certified in pollen counting in 1990, after years of being self-taught. The information has been valuable to the physicians—first in the original four locations and now to allergists throughout Atlanta and, indeed, the whole region. Atlanta Allergy & Asthma now has 17 locations, 15 doctors and seven advanced practitioners.

Cheryl Lawrence, LPN, Director of Mixing at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, who joined the practice 22 years ago but came into the mixing department three years ago, says she has long been intrigued by Marie’s work. On one of her early new-employee tours, “I saw Marie behind the glass, with a mask on and bent over the microscope counting pollen. I thought, ‘I want to do that.’” Cheryl and other pollen counters—Lawanda Day, Ellena Fowlkes and Kim Norwood—must get their recertification every few years. “The last time I went to pollen class, there were people—including some physicians and a researcher—from all over.”

Cheryl says that Robin Panethere, Director of Marketing and Practice Development at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma, has done an excellent job of making sure the practice is associated with the pollen count information that is provided to area TV viewers and radio listeners. “When we started, we were the only certified pollen counting station in the Southeast. Allergists in Tennessee and North Carolina visited our location to see our setup. Now there are several certified pollen counting stations in the Southeast,” Marie says.

Ellena Fowlkes counting the pollen.

Tell Us What You Think

We Would Love to Hear From You

Do you have comments on this newsletter or ideas for the next issue? Email Tatiana at [email protected].