Bridget C. Lee

Patient satisfaction is Bridget C. Lee’s number one priority. Her forethought and proactive nature are what have helped increase productivity in the graduate oral medicine clinic by 175 percent over the past year.

"I try not to bother the doctors with the things I can handle," said Lee. "I want their only concern in the clinic to be the well-being of our patients."

In 1993 Lee was hired to work in the dental auxiliary utilization program of the outpatient clinic helping third-year dental students learn to work with dental assistants. After 6 1/2 years, she transferred to the graduate oral medicine clinic. Her duties have evolved from chair-side dental assistant to office manager to patient scheduler to equipment manager.

Dr. Catherine Riley, assistant professor of dental diagnostic science, who nominated Lee for the Employee Excellence in Service Award, said
that no matter what the task, Lee demonstrates a "can-do" attitude and ultimately succeeds.

"Bridget constantly strives to improve her work environment with fresh ideas and goals," said Dr. Riley. "She recognized the need for expedited delivery of care to new Dental School patients, so she constructed and implemented a system that benefits new patients as well as the graduate oral medicine clinic."

Lee’s system allowed new patients to receive care prior to being assigned to a dental student. As a result, patients who usually would have waited months to receive initial dental care were treated within a few weeks. Dr. Riley said the new system improved overall patient satisfaction and retention. The increase in delivery of patient care also produced the need for more dental care instruments. Lee took it upon herself to search the Dental School for surplus instruments. Within three weeks she acquired and prepared the instruments for use in the clinic. Dr. Riley said Lee’s actions saved the clinic thousands of dollars in instrument costs.

"Bridget is a motivator and coordinator for everyone in the clinic," said Dr. Riley. "Because of her hard work, I am able to concentrate on my patients. She makes my job easier and more enjoyable and I wouldn’t be successful without her."