A Schedule Change

“Change is the end result of all true learning.”

- Leo F. Buscaglia

A few years ago, our team decided on a decision-making process. Before we make any changes, we look at three things: 

1. Will the change benefit our patients?

2. Will the change benefit our team?

3. Will the change benefit the business?

If we can answer at least 2 of these questions with a yes, then we strongly consider making the change. Ideally, all three are a “yes” to know that we are making the best decision for all of Grand Avenue Dental Care. 

It is true that while we have been doing a LOT of learning over here at Grand Avenue Dental Care, some changes are coming as well. 

Beginning the week of November 6th, 2023, we will no longer offer Friday hours. Our last Friday will be November 3rd. 

In order to keep the same number of appointment slots weekly, providers who currently work on Fridays will be shifting those hours to days earlier in the week. 

While we understand that there might be some disappointment that comes along with this decision, we truly believe that this will allow us to create the best experience for all of our patients. Remember, we are a small business after all!

Missing one team member on a day with only a few people in the office creates significant stress on the team and on patient care. This change will allow for more opportunities for our entire team to be present in the office at the same time, and will foster a more supportive, collaborative, and cohesive experience. It will allow more flexibility if we do have a team member out sick one day or if we have to squeeze in one or two extra emergencies throughout the week, as we will have more support with our entire team present. 

As always, we will continue to learn, improve and change when needed, to continue to serve you and your families.

For those of you that know you have an appointment scheduled on a Friday, feel free to call or text us at 262.673.7826 to reschedule. If you leave a voicemail, please know that we will call you back. Otherwise, we will be working about 4 weeks out to get people rescheduled as we go, so we will reach out if you don’t. 

Thank you all for your continued support and patronage. As always, it is our pleasure to serve you.

The secret of change...and a few introductions!

Socrates once said: “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

There is no doubt that change can be hard, scary and unsettling at times. However, when we focus on where we’ve come from and where we are going, we can turn our attention to all the positives.  With that, we wanted to let all of you know about some changes that are occurring here at Grand Avenue Dental Care.

First and foremost, the time has come to say goodbye to Dr. Madani. She has been with us for four years and she has been a wonderful part of the team. She has treated our patients with care, compassion and patience. The team has enjoyed having her as one of our own and she will be missed! She is moving on to a clinic closer to her home so that she can enjoy getting her kids to and from school and be able to be more present in this next phase of her parenting life. Her last day with us will be Friday, August 4th and we wish her all the best as she moves to her next journey!

Our hygienist Melissa is also moving to an office closer to home and her last day will be in September. She has provided excellent education and care to our patients over the last 4 years and, while we are happy for her next endeavor, we will miss her. But, as Dr. Suess once said:

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

We are grateful for the time and smiles we’ve shared with both of them.

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Looking to our future, we are very excited to announce two new additions to our doctor team!

Joining Dr. Clancy are Dr. Ethan Farr and Dr. Danielle Shinn! They are both positive additions to our team, whom Dr. Wilk hand-selected to ensure the best care is provided to all of our patients.  Both doctors have already started here at the office and we are so excited to be welcoming them to the team. Dr. Farr started full time in mid-July and Dr. Shinn will start full time on Monday, August 7th. Learn more about them here and be sure to say “Hi!” the next time you are in the office! We’ve put their pictures and bios below as well!

We also have two new hygienists who joined the team in the last month or so. Courtney and Tammy both come to us with lots of experience from previous offices and they fit in beautifully with the GADC team. They are passionate about what they do and we know you will love meeting them in person! We will be giving you more information about them in the near future!

We are still hiring some additional team members to properly support the clinical team, so don’t be shy if you see a new face at the front desk or assisting the doctors in the back. We will try to send updates here or on Facebook so that we can keep everyone up to date and make the proper introductions. We also are losing a couple of team members to new ventures in the next couple of months - (Hygiene school! Law School! Oh my!) and we are SO excited for them! (and sad to see them go!)

Regardless of the changes in our staff, our mission has not changed. It is still focused on Sharing Smiles and providing the best, individualized care that we can to each of you. You are, and will remain, the reason why we do what we do and why we strive to always do it better. Thank you for being part of the GADC family!

Dr. Ethan Farr

I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Sciences from Marquette University in 2020 and was a member of the accelerated Pre-Dental Scholar Program, leading me to receive my Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Marquette University School of Dentistry in 2023. I have known that I wanted to go into the dental field since I was in the 2nd grade and that ambition has only solidified as time went on. Being a dentist combines my passion for healthcare and allows me to form long-term relationships with my patients in a relaxed, family-like setting. While I’m not in the office, I like to travel and spend time with my fiancée, Sydney, family and friends, especially up north by the lake. I enjoy playing cards, trivia games and many games of fetch with my dog, Ollie. I also enjoy competing in a variety of sports and I just completed my first half marathon! I am excited to join the strong, experienced, existing team here at Grand Avenue Dental Care and to continue the longstanding tradition of providing patient-focused, high quality dental care to our community!

Dr. Danielle Shinn

I am a graduate from Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine in Illinois and a member of the Academy of General Dentistry, but my passion for dentistry started when I was a patient at age 14. The treatment that I required was complicated, but I was consistently impressed with how my general dentist, oral surgeon, and orthodontist worked together to give me the best result possible. After my treatment was completed, I was amazed by my increased confidence and found that it affected many areas of my life. I love being a dentist because I get to help patients from all stages of life and with a wide range of needs from chewing and speaking to performing in front of a crowd. In my free time I enjoy being around my family, friends and pets. I like to travel, meet new people, and experience new spots in nature with my husband. I have recently developed an appreciation for yoga and I also enjoy fashion and the ways it allows me to express myself. I am so impressed with the hard work Grand Avenue Dental Care has done for Hartford and surrounding areas and I am honored to be a part of such a strong, caring team. I also admire how the GADC team puts patients first, with their dedication to quality care and patient satisfaction. I look forward to seeing you in the office!   

Spread the Word- Sharing Smiles is Nearly Here!

Our 11th annual Sharing Smiles event is coming up on Saturday, March 18th, 2023. We are thrilled to be hosting this day of giving once again and are excited to have some of the staff from Dodge Dental Studio join us!

What is Sharing Smiles?

It is a day of FREE dentistry! Our staff volunteers for the day to provide FREE cleanings, fluoride treatment, sealants, X-rays, fillings and extractions. Treatment is done based on individual needs of the patient and appointments will be given on a first come, first serve basis. We will also be collecting food for the Hartford Food Pantry all through the month of March and on the day of the event. Help us by dropping off canned goods (not expired) or cash donations that we can take to the Hartford Food Pantry!

When is Sharing Smiles Day?

It is on Saturday, March 18th. Registration begins at 7am and we will start seeing patients by 8am.

Where is Sharing Smiles Day?

Our Sharing Smiles event will take place in our office at 1163 Grand Avenue (highway 83 south) here in Hartford, Wi.

Who is Sharing Smiles Day for?

This event is for anyone who is in need of dental care and has been having trouble getting it due to not having the financial means to do so. We will not require any proof of income to treat patients. All treatment will be given on the honor system. If you are in need or you know someone who is, please come and join us!

Why Sharing Smiles?

At Grand Avenue Dental Care, Sharing Smiles is our mission. In everything we do, we want to find ways to share smiles with our patients and our community. Whether that means utilizing the latest dental technology to make our patient’s visits easy and efficient or hosting a FREE day of dental care for our community members who need it, we are trying to serve. Healthy Teeth, Happy Heart. That’s Sharing Smiles.

We hope to see you there!

Giving with Gratitude and Asking for Grace

This weekend we are thrilled to be getting back to our roots with our tenth annual Sharing Smiles Day! This is a day filled with giving, gratitude and positivity. Our team will be volunteering their time and talents to offer individuals in our community a chance to take care of themselves and improve their smile and oral health. We give knowing that we are blessed to serve and be a part of this community and we hope others feel that same sense of gratitude as we practice Sharing Smiles.

If you are someone who is in need of dental care but are struggling to make it happen, or you know someone else in a similar situation, please consider coming to our event this Saturday, March 26th! Details are below.

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As we head into this weekend, we wanted to ask for some kindness and grace from our patients as well. The last couple of years have been hard on all of us. Stress levels have been high for our teammates and our patients. We recognize this and our focus remains on providing the best service and the most positive experience for our patients.

We have experienced some turnover within our team. We have lost some wonderful teammates but have gained some fantastic additions. We know change can be hard and currently the reality is that we are a bit short-staffed. We are aware of the issue this creates and are actively working on it.

We ask all of you to have grace with our team if we need to reschedule something or if we don’t have the exact time and date of an appointment that you would like to schedule. Our goal is to add the right teammates so that we can return to a more open schedule. In the meantime though, please try to remain understanding and patient with our staff who are trying to create the best possible experience for you. We are only as good as our team and we are blessed with a group of people who keep showing up, serving you and sharing smiles. We ask that you treat them as the valued team members that they are by showing grace. This is no one’s fault as we are all doing the best we can.

As always, we are grateful for our community and our patients and we look forward to continuing to serve you all for years to come!

Join us for Sharing Smiles - March 26, 2022!

COVID Update - May 18th, 2020

As you are all well aware, there is new information daily about the state of the world, the country and our community in regards to COVID-19. Here at Grand Avenue Dental Care, we are trying to do all that we can to ensure the safety of our staff and our patients. We have been seeing emergency patients throughout this pandemic so far and we are nearly to the point of re-opening to see all of you.

This is going to be a slow process as we start up again. We are taking each step, one at a time, so that we can make sure our systems and processes work and so safety is always top priority.

Here are some things we have already and are going to be implementing to ensure we are as safe as we can be:

• Patients are calling/texting us from the parking lot when they arrive.

• We are doing a COVID screening for all patients prior to seeing them.

• We are taking all staff and patients temperatures upon arrival, and sending home anyone with a fever.

• We have ordered UV-C filtration systems for all of our treatment rooms.

This week, we are still only seeing emergency patients. Our staff is here Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week from 9:30 to 3:30.

Beginning next week, after Memorial Day, we are open for an abbreviated schedule:

Monday, 5/25: CLOSED Memorial Day

Tuesday, 5/26: Open 9:00 to 6:00

Wednesday, 5/27: Open 9:00 - 6:00

Thursday 5/28: Open 8:00 - 5:00

Friday 5/29: Open 8:00 - 5:00

The following week our schedule will be as follows and we will follow this new ‘normal’ schedule for the time being:

Monday, 6/1: Open 9:00 - 6:00

Tuesday, 6/2: 9:00 - 6:00

Wednesday, 6/3: 7:00 - 7:00

Thursday 6/4: 8:00 - 5:00

Friday 6/5: 8:00 - 5:00

During this new normal schedule, we will be splitting our staff in half so that only half of our team will be in the office at once. Half the staff will be here Monday, Tuesday and half of the day Wednesday and the other half for the remainder of the week.

We ask for your patience and understanding during this time as we figure out what works best and try to move forward safely. Some patients will still be getting phone calls to reschedule their appointments during this time due to the shift in our schedule and when staff will be here. We are not quite sure just how long this schedule will remain and when we will go back to the old normal. We will let you know as soon as we know!

If you do not want to be seen at this time and prefer to wait, please call and let us know or leave a message. We will be happy to find a time later to see you.

As always, we are honored to serve you and your families. We will continue to work and move forward always with you always in the forefront of our mind. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you soon!

-All of us at Grand Avenue Dental Care