An office greening takes the sting out of waiting
A few plants and bird feeders cheer patients
In one part of rural Georgia, getting dentures can mean a long drive and an entire day spent waiting in an office. Patients at Bowdon (GA) Denture Center were already nervous before they arrived for a long day of waiting and sitting in a dull room with high windows didn't help. So Ronald Hazen, DDS, the owner of the center, has put in picture windows and a garden full of plants and bird feeders that has not only eased the wait for patients, but has become a topic of conversation between them and their friends and families. Hazen has improved his business and patient satisfaction simply by engaging in a love of gardening.
According to his daughter, Lisa Rock, who helped with the project, the garden has also been certified as backyard wildlife sanctuary by the National Wildlife Foundation. That certification brought even more publicity for the practice.
Rock says her father always had an interest in gardens. "The first thing he did when he moved in was to put a garden in on the side yard," she says. "He didn't realize that the patients could see this and would be standing on their tiptoes to look out the high windows while they waited."
Once he noticed, Hazen had the entire wall taken out and replaced with two large picture windows. He put more work into the garden, erecting a privacy fence for the building next door and adding a pond, waterfall, and bird and squirrel feeders.
The garden is 25 feet by 60 feet. But along with the ground space, Hazen and his family are making use of the fence next to the garden upward, adding hanging planters and climbing vines.
The cost has been reasonable, in part because so much of the work was done by Hazen and his family. (For a breakdown of the costs for the garden, see box, above right.)
The project, while partly a labor of love for Hazen, had a practical aspect, too. "I wanted to open up the waiting room, to give people something besides magazines to look at while they waited. And it bothered me that people were so nervous to come to a dentist. This project put people in a better mood. They were talking about the chipmunks and flowers. That made them easier to work on, and the results they got were better and more appreciated."
Big impact, little project
The impact of his work surprised Hazen. Patients were less grumpy, more relaxed. While they used to sit in the waiting room in a stupor ignoring each other, now they talked about what they saw outside. They would ask Hazen about gardening and his plants. They even started swapping seeds with him.
One patient who came at the end of August drove two hours, Hazen says. "She seemed calm and relaxed, but she told me she had spent six months dreading the whole thing. She said, as she left, that it was one of the most delightful experiences she's ever had." Such comments make the work worth it, Hazen adds.
It was Rock's idea to contact the Georgia Wildlife Foundation to certify the garden. Working through them, the National Wildlife Federation in Baltimore provided that certification, which has led to local press reports about the practice.
Next on the list is creating an outdoor waiting area. Outdoor furniture, a paved patio, and hanging gardens will provide patients with another waiting option, she says. The space for the outdoor section is about 14 feet by 10 feet.
"I was really fascinated that country folk would be so interested in nature," says Hazen. "But they are just blown away by seeing hummingbirds and butterflies up close."
Along with the improved patient satisfaction - anecdotal as it is - Hazen is getting more business because of his efforts. "We are getting press, and there is word of mouth," he says. "This sets us apart from others. I get people in the chair, and they want to talk about the plants and the garden, then they go out and tell their friends and family." He adds that if people feel positive about their environment, they feel better about the care they get.
That, says Rock, is the lesson which any practice can take from the experience - whether or not they have a building with land they can personally develop into a wildlife refuge. "You can do so many little things," she says. "You can put plants in the office, soothing pictures on the wall. All you have to do is be creative - sit down and look at your office from the patient's perspective."
[Editor's note: Those interested in getting their outdoor habitats certified can contact the National Wildlife Federation at (800) 822-9919. The NWF can also provide garden plans.]n
· Lisa Rock and Ronald Hazen, DDS, Bowdon (GA) Denture Center. Telephone: (770) 258-3991.
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