When a dental office has 5-star Google reviews, the credit usually goes to the dentist. However, we know the unsung heroes of the dental offices with the happiest patients are office managers. A practice can have the best clinicians, cutting-edge equipment, comfortable waiting rooms, and top amenities, but everything falls apart without the right office manager to keep the team humming.
That’s why RevenueWell is highlighting the work office managers do behind the scenes to make the patient experience feel like serendipity during Office Manager Appreciation Month. Today, we’re spotlighting Michelle Matthiesen of Brammeier Family Dental and Brammeier Dental Associates of Naperville. Michelle has been in dental for over 3 decades with experience as a dental assistant, front desk receptionist, office manager, marketing director, and even a dental consultant.
“Before Michelle came on, I had to micromanage quite a bit up at the front. I was having to deal with looking at day sheets, and making sure patients were checked out appropriately and billed out correctly among other things,” says Dr. Lauren Brammeier of Brammeier Family Dental in Lisle, Illinois.
At first, Dr. Lauren was hesitant to bring Michelle into the practice because she believed Michelle was overqualified for a smaller family practice and eventually hired someone else. For Michelle, Dr. Lauren’s temporary ‘no’ ended up being a blessing in disguise because she got to spend time with her father before he passed away.
“I truly believe everything happens for a reason,” Michelle told us. “We interviewed in June, and by September, I’d taken another job. I just remember coming home that first day knowing that place was not for me. I told my family I’ll be looking again. That Thursday, I saw an email from Lauren to interview again. We literally talked the next day to work out the details before I called the people I was working for to let them know I’d be starting a new job on Monday!”
The timing was serendipitous for Michelle and even more so for the Brammeiers. On day one, Michelle swapped out their old patient communication tools with RevenueWell and was able to boost productivity and enhance her patients’ experience with less effort from the rest of the team through the pandemic. Implementing RevenueWell gave so much time back to the team that they were happier to come to work and the patients could feel the difference.
“I truly believe everything happens for a reason.”
-Michelle Matthiesen, Office Manager
“This place is phenomenal because everybody helps each other and works together and it really is kind of like a family,” says Gina Mueller. As a receptionist with over 20 years of experience in different practices, Gina’s main reason for settling at Brammeier Family Dental was the unique culture where people enjoy coming into work and patients enjoy connecting with the Brammeier family.
Her impact was so profound that Dr. Brammeier’s husband –– Dr. Michael Brammeier –– who was in the middle of a practice acquisition, reached out for her help. One day, after he completed his acquisition, Dr. Michael and Michelle were walking their dogs when he popped the question: “Hey, will you be my office manager? I really need you, like really need you.” Of course, she said yes, and the rest is history.
“This place is phenomenal because everybody helps each other and works together and it really is kind of like a family,”
-Gina Mueller, Front Desk Receptionist
“I remember the day Michelle introduced me to RevenueWell.” says Dr. Michael. “Two years later, our collections have increased by $400,000! It’s honestly been a great experience because, as a clinician, it’s tough to make business decisions sometimes. That’s why when Michelle says, ‘this is what we should do’, we’re doing it, because she’s the queen!”
Dr. Lauren shares a similar sentiment: “I didn’t know anything about RevenueWell, but when she said we needed it, I gave her the keys because I understand my limitations at this point. I do better in the back and she’s a master in the front. I try not to micromanage her because I know she knows what she’s doing, and I appreciate everything she’s done for us.”
“I remember the day Michelle introduced me to RevenueWell. Two years later, our collections increased by $400,000!”
-Dr. Michael Brammeier, DDS
This isn’t the first place Michelle has brought RevenueWell.
“I’ve been using RevenueWell since its inception,” she told us. “And I’ve tried to bring it to every practice that I’ve gone to because I find so much value in it. I find that it encompasses so many different things and allows us to do so much with our patients.”
The more we learned about Michelle, the more eager we felt to put a spotlight on the people-oriented culture she’s responsible for managing. And for Office Manager Appreciation Month this September, we thought it would be fun to visit Brammeier Family Dental to hear more of their story so we could share it with you.
See the original blog post by RevenueWell here.
Office Manager Spotlight: Michelle Matthiesen – RevenueWell