As the merger expands the portfolio from 18 to 56 locations, monthly meetings with every practice are no longer feasible. A tiered meeting cadence is being implemented: practices needing more support will continue with monthly meetings, others will shift to quarterly, and high-performing practices may not require a regular meeting cadence. The new VP of Operations, Matt, is collaborating with Jayme to determine the structure for SGA East and West PRD meetings. Michelle will be kept informed of any changes specific to Woodyard Periodontics throughout the transition.
Case acceptance rates are strong and referral volumes remain steady, with performance holding above benchmarks despite changes in doctor availability. A new Partner Notes report was introduced that tracks provider visits and the resulting referrals, enabling clearer identification of which outreach activities are generating the most impact. Recent study club events have shown a positive effect on referrals from previously less engaged providers, and specific dinners with referring doctors have been directly linked to referral increases.
One assistant is departing at end of month and another will have limited availability due to shoulder surgery. A new assistant has recently started but is still in training, making June particularly challenging for patient care capacity. Full support will not be immediately available.
Both Dr. Woodyard and Dr. Dority have planned vacations in July. Their schedules do not overlap, which helps manage coverage and minimizes disruption to patient scheduling during the summer period.
The practice space has been cleaned and prepared. The invitation is pending and food planning is still in progress due to some uncertainty around expected attendance. A new creative director, Mike Petro, will be handling invitation design going forward, and Heidy may further enhance the current design in the interim.
Options discussed include a gourmet loaded potato bar, elevated Mexican street food, charcuterie tables, and BBQ. A mocktail station was also proposed as a fun and refreshing addition to elevate the guest experience. Michelle will select from these or flag if none are suitable.
Jayme encouraged Michelle to request additional budget if the chosen catering option exceeds current allocation, emphasizing the proven ROI of open house events and willingness to approve reasonable increases.
Jayme introduced the Referral Growth Engine, a plug-and-play marketing playbook that generates a geo-targeted prospect list for practices based on geographic radius. Michelle has been asked to review and verify the generated prospect list for Woodyard Periodontics — confirming each entry as a true prospect or not and flagging any incorrect addresses, as AI-generated data may include inaccuracies. The completed list should be returned to Jayme before the departing assistant leaves at end of month. Feedback from Michelle's verification will help refine the tool for use across all practices.
Going forward, marketing events should be logged with greater specificity. A monthly outreach event should be created for provider visits, while lunches and dinners must be logged as separate events due to differing costs and reporting needs. Expenses should be distributed among all providers visited during each event. For now, both marketing event entries and provider profile notes should be maintained in parallel — the new system will eventually streamline this into a single reporting workflow. Jayme offered support if the process becomes overwhelming.