Key Points
- The more inclusive a clinic seeks
to be in providing access to oral health care, the less likely it
is to be able to achieve financial sustainability. By the same token,
the more a clinic limits uncompensated care, the less oral health
care it is able to provide for people with low incomes.
- A clinic’s business plan tells the
clinic’s story—past, present, and future—moving
from mission and goals to the planned growth and financial projections
that will support the mission and goals.
- The business plan is useful within the organization
for evaluating progress on accomplishing its objectives and educating
employees.
- The business plan is a practical tool for communicating
goals and objectives to others, including potential grant funders
and banks from which you seek loans.
- Although
those preparing to launch a brand-new clinic may not yet have all
the information they need to complete a business plan, it is important
to start writing the plan early on, because the process will help
identify issues that need attention.
- It may be helpful to obtain expert assistance
when writing a business plan.
Parts of this module were adapted, with permission, from Russell B. n.d. Growing
and Sustaining a Dental Clinic Within the Primary Care “Safety
Net”: FQHC Dental Clinic Operations in a Changing Environment (PowerPoint
presentation) and from Russell B. 2005. New
Dental Director Training Manual: For Federally Qualified Health Center
and Other Safety Net Dental Programs. Des Moines, IA: Iowa
Health Foundation, Iowa Department of Public Health, and Iowa/Nebraska
Primary Care Association.
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