Wednesday, January 25, 2012

I don’t know, but I’ve been told, ReachOut America is as low as they go.

I’m hearing ReachOut Healthcare America mobile dentistry, and their Big Smiles program has a “service center” type place with hoards of telemarketers in cubicles, burning up the phone lines with a list of potential victims to contact that is as long as your arm. 

Telemarketers? Yes,telemarketers. This is where the “ReachOut” part comes into play. Each telemarketer has a list of the names of children, parents, your child’s school, and parent or guardian contact information.

For example, let’s say you are home, the phone rings, you answer and it’s a nice lady telling you the mobile dental clinic your school has approved, which is staffed with a highly qualified dentist and two assistants will be at your school on such and such date. Sounds just like picture-day doesn’t it?

ReachoutAmericaThe telemarketers have their expertly crafted scripts ready, which makes this phone call really a “high pressure” sales call. You’re probably going to be quoted statistics and such about the poor status of children’s dental health here in America, your state or even your town.

The telemarketer tell you they just your verbal permission - probably recorded- or so they might tell you. ReachOut can have their highly qualified and well trained dentist do just a little look-see, a screening so to speak, or maybe its been a while since your child’s last cleaning, they could do that for you too. They may tell you they will send home a report detailing Susie’s dental health.

They might ask, if their highly trained staff does find a problem, with Susie, do you what them to fix it, right then and there, since it is a full service mobile clinic. It will save you all kinds of time and we know as parents, time is a valuable commodity, right? Plus, how can you neglect your child by withholding dental care? Free dental care?! Free, you may ask?

The telemarketer, I mean company representative, tells you there will be no cost to you, since your child is eligible for free dental services because of your states Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Sounds like if you are on the “free lunch” list you get free dental care at school too, doesn’t it? 

In fact you may feel at the end of the phone call your this is all arranged by your school system as a service to all the children, included as a normal as the school nurse. Remember the fluoride rinses back in the 1980’s?

You could be lead to believe it’s nothing more than dental hygiene instruction – remember those Bell Telephone movie reels that used to make the rounds at schools?  No, well you’re not as old as me then.

If you decide you would like to be there for the event, you’re likely to be told that since they aren’t sure exactly what time Susie will be called, you could possibly be sitting there in the school all day, and you don’t want to be doing that, right? That’s just another classic separate the child and the parent ploy.

Speaking of that “free lunch” list, is that where ReachOut Healthcare got your contact information?

After being pressure cooked by the “company representative” and have no resistance left, you agree to have your child’s teeth cleaned, but just cleaned!  Susie has her own dentist and if they find something you want to take Susie to her dentist for repairs.

The day the Mobile Dental Center visit arrives. You have it marked on your calendar, along with all the other school events and remind Susie it’s Dentist Day!  You pump her up and get her all excited for her adventure, maybe it’s her first time to see the dentist, so you’ve told her on how fabulous this adventure is going to be and what she can expect to happen.

The Mobile Dental Center is set up in the library or some other utility room at the school, and start calling the pre-approved, pre-authorized children in to see the dentist. Ms. Smith,your child’s teacher, sees that your child’s name is on the approved for treatment list, so off little Susie goes to meet the highly trained dentist and the friendly staff.

That afternoon you go pick up little Susie and she appears upset. She looks like she has been crying and her face is swollen, but you think the swelling you see is because she was crying over something.  Probably some little boy pulled her pigtails, right?

You ask her what’s wrong. She looks at you, and says, “mommy you lied to me” and beings to cry uncontrollably. She opens her mouth and you find 8 of her teeth have stainless steel crowns.  

dental_corporate_90x128Believe it or not, this is exactly the sort of thing I’m hearing about ReachOut Healthcare America. According the the Morgan Stanley website, they are doing it to 400,000 children a year, in 8,000 schools in 22 different states.

They are doing it to children in schools; to the elderly in nursing homes and our military families. 

I don’t see this any different than vacuum cleaner salesman knocking on your door, wanting to give you a free carpet shampoo. Will the next knock at your door be a traveling dentist or maybe a gynecologist is the next visitor to your home?

Question:

Where did they get the list????

 

ReachOut Healthcare America
1904 W. Parkside Ln, Suite 201
Phoenix, AZ 85027
Contact Them

From Bloomberg:

Company Overview

ReachOut Healthcare America, Ltd. provides mobile dentistry and healthcare services in the United States. It provides administrative support to PCs; and mobile dental procedures, including preventive and restorative procedures. The company, through its dental readiness task force program, offers examinations, X-rays, panographs, and treatment services to military and national guards. It also provides clinical care and case management services for schools, shelters, and treatment centers. In addition, the company offers an elderly and disabled community-based outreach dental program that facilitates logistical support to local dentists and creates a dental home for the elderly and disabled wh...

ReachOut Healthcare America, Ltd. provides mobile dentistry and healthcare services in the United States. It provides administrative support to PCs; and mobile dental procedures, including preventive and restorative procedures. The company, through its dental readiness task force program, offers examinations, X-rays, panographs, and treatment services to military and national guards. It also provides clinical care and case management services for schools, shelters, and treatment centers. In addition, the company offers an elderly and disabled community-based outreach dental program that facilitates logistical support to local dentists and creates a dental home for the elderly and disabled who do not have access to dental care where they reside. It offers its services for under-served population, as well as men and women in armed forces. The company was formerly known as Healthy Kids and Seniors Dental, Ltd. and changed its name in January 2004. ReachOut Healthcare America, Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

In January 2011, a little snake creep by the name of Kirk Huntsman was on board over at ReachOut and assisted with the sale to Morgan Stanley. Yes, folks, your 401(k) is helping make this service available. To say thank you, the company is taking your tax dollars as their compensation.  Isn’t corporate dentistry grand!

Before Morgan Stanley PE, ReachOut Healthcare America was owned by Sentinel Capital Partners. They sound like some very qualified dentists don’t they?

kirk-huntsman1Here, Ronald "Kirk"Huntsman will be tickled pink to tell you all about himself.

I think he’s being modest as to his position in ReachOut Healthcare America, according to state business filings he was CEO!