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Special Smiles has many important partnerships with residential facilities, programs and agencies serving people with intellectual, developmental, psychological, and physical disabilities. We are pleased to introduce you to one of our partners through this article.
SPIN is a nonprofit organization founded in 1970 to provide the highest quality services to people of all ages with autism and intellectual/developmental disability. SPIN is also a leading provider of inclusive early childhood education. SPIN believes that everyone deserves to achieve to their fullest potential and to live a life of possibilities.
We spoke with Colleen Horcher, Divisional Director of Health Services, and Nicole Burns, Director of Health Services.
Like Special Smiles, SPIN serves people who have special needs due to autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities. Are there other ways in which Special Smiles and SPIN are aligned, such as your attitude or approach to serving this population?
Colleen — We believe Special Smiles strives, as SPIN does, to provide person-centered services of the highest quality. Both organizations treat every individual with the utmost respect, and we do our best to support their health and safety at all times.
Nicole — SPIN and Special Smiles are also aligned when it comes to continuous improvement. They have been integral in reviewing with us what’s working, what’s not working, and what we can do better.
Colleen Horcher (left) and Nicole Burns of SPIN
Why does your staff bring SPIN clients to Special Smiles for dental care?
Nicole — Special Smiles can deal with all different types of individuals with a variety of dental needs. Recently they provided treatment for a patient who had complex medical needs stemming from diabetes. His family was very involved and had concerns. Before the dental appointment, Special Smiles spoke with SPIN to gather information, they spoke with the family to answer questions, and they spoke with his specialist to ensure preoperative insulin requirements would be met.
Colleen — Special Smiles really understands the team approach.
What challenges are involved in bringing your clients to Special Smiles, and how does the Special Smiles staff help to overcome those challenges?
Colleen — A lot of the individuals we support are very medically involved and require multiple clearances for general anesthesia. Special Smiles helps us by thoroughly reviewing the clearances so there are no last-minute issues.
Nicole — We face challenges with scheduling staff and ensuring the patient eats nothing prior to the appointment. They help by coordinating with us to set the appointment time. They also work with us to manage any individual who has behavior challenges by expediting the time from exiting the car to entering the treatment room.
Do you only bring your clients to Special Smiles when there is a dental emergency, or do you bring them for regular checkups?
Nicole — They will always fit us in for an emergency. But normally we utilize Special Smiles for annual checkups for those who can’t tolerate a chair-side dentist visit and for those in need of extensive dental work.
Do Special Smiles dentists sometimes visit SPIN? In what way is that helpful?
Colleen — Special Smiles has come out to have proactive conversations and planning sessions to improve how we work together to ensure positive outcomes for patients.
Nicole — They are very open and honest and willing to work with us in many different ways, from how we provide preventive care to how we improve the skills and knowledge of the caregivers. They have great training videos on their website to assist in training our staff.
What do you like best about your jobs at SPIN?
Colleen — I love that SPIN truly lives by its mission and the Pillars of People First, Professionalism, Performance Excellence and Productivity. All of us do whatever we can to support everyone in having a life of possibilities.
Nicole — I love the individuals we support, building those relationships, building bonds of trust, and seeing that lead to positive outcomes.
What do you like best about Special Smiles?
Nicole — They have a dedicated team to complete full chart reviews and ensure they have all pre-op clearances prior to the appointment. Their goal is always to ensure the safety of each patient.
Colleen— Like SPIN, they they strive to accomplish their mission: to provide high-quality dental treatment, to educate parents and caregivers about daily oral hygiene, and to increase public awareness on the importance of good oral health and its relationship to overall quality of life.
