Kathy Olson

Kathy Olson has worked with the developmentally disabled population and other special needs populations for over 20 years. She is the creator and Clinic Administrator of the Milestone Dental Clinic that serves exclusively individuals with developmental disabilities. The clinic is currently in its tenth year and is thriving as a “Model that Works”. Kathy has been a board member of the ADPD for about 10 years and is currently Immediate Past-President she also currently serves on the SCDA Board. She served as one of the first two hygiene representatives to the Illinois State Dental Society, House of Delegates. She was instrumental in their recent passage of General Supervision for Dental Hygienists to improve access to care for underserved populations. In addition to her time spent at the clinic she works for legislative changes at both a State and National level to improve access to dental care for special needs patients. She frequently speaks to both dental and non-dental audiences about the importance of dental care for special needs populations. She is the recent recipient of the Harold Berk Award and the Scott Erickson Memorial Caring Award.

Please tell us about yourself.
My name is Kathy Olson. I am an RDH who graduated from MarquetteUniversity in 1976. After graduation I spent several years as a private practice RDH. I then started a path of more non-traditional hygiene roles. I worked at SwedishAmericanHospital for many years where I spent the majority of my time practicing hygiene in the nursing home setting. I also spent some time, as a hygienist, in the hospital but also had some non-hygiene hospital responsibilities. I then left hygiene all together for a short time when I was the manager of an out-patient rehab clinic and the program director of an advocacy organization for people with disabilities. Each of those experiences provided me with the varied background that has been so beneficial in my current role as Clinic Administrator of Milestone Dental Clinic.

Tell us how you got the vision to build the clinic that provides dental services to individuals with disabilities. What were some of the biggest hurdles while doing this?
I was approached by Milestone, Inc after they had secured a grant to build a dental program for people with disabilities (PWD). They found me through the Special Care Dentistry Association (SCDA) that I have been involved with since 1995. It was like a dream come true to be able to build a program to fulfill such a huge need that I had observed in all of my past roles. Access to dental care for PWD is always expressed as one of their largest unmet needs. The biggest hurdle in creating the program is keeping it viable. Illinois Medicaid has the 49^th lowest reimbursement rate in the US. Grants from the State of Illinois provide us with supplemental funding as I am in continuous search of additional grant money.

What motivates you?
My professional motivation comes from the heartwarming success stories of some of our over 4000 patients. When I begin to get discouraged and overwhelmed with the administrative issues of running the clinic, I put on scrubs and spend time on the clinic floor. It refocuses me. I also depend on the SCDA Annual Scientific Session as my yearly fuel! I am lucky to have many SCDA colleagues that are always only a phone call away.

What puts a smile on your face?
My 2 beautiful grandsons, Brady and Camden, put a smile on my face whenever I see them. They make me feel so very blessed! The innocence and unconditional love of youth is a beautiful thing to have in your life.

Who are your role models (both professional and personally)?
My personal role model is my father. He grew up very poor and became very successful, and he even continues to give back in retirement through work with numerous charitable organizations. But the thing that makes him my role model is that all the while he was climbing the corporate ladder he always kept his focus on the truly important things in life, his family was a the top of that list. I still run into people whom I have never met that worked for him and everyone has nothing but admiration for his fairness, compassion and humanness. My professional role model is Dr. Ray Lyons or Los Lunas, New Mexico. He is a special needs DDS who continues to overcome sometimes insurmountable odds to provide care to PWD in New Mexico. He was beside me every step of the way as I built that Milestone Dental Clinic program.

And finally, how do you see your outreach growing and where can it spread? How can others help?
My ultimate goal is to expand the Milestone Dental Clinic model to other areas of the state of Illinois and perhaps even beyond. I am always happy to help anyone who is starting a program like the Milestone program. Whenever I offer help, I am always asked about my concern about competition. My response is always that I hope I work long enough in special needs dentistry to see competition become a problem. My dream would be for special needs patients to have numerous choices about where they receive dental care. So the invitation to anyone who wants to start a program, is to call us at Milestone and let us help you!