Member-owned Health Fund, Westfund, which provides dental and eye care services to members in regional NSW and Queensland, has opened an impressive state-of-the-art dental clinic at Mackay. The new six-chair clinic, equipped with the latest dental units and technology, is the culmination of Westfund’s efforts to bring quality, affordable healthcare to Australians in regional areas.

1. 202 Australasian Dental Practice May/June 2013
M
ember-owned Health Fund, West-
fund, which provides dental and
eye care services to members
in regional NSW and Queensland, has
opened an impressive state-of-the-art
dental clinic at Mackay.
The new six-chair clinic, equipped with
the latest dental units and technology, is
the culmination of Westfund’s efforts to
bring quality, affordable healthcare to
Australians in regional areas.
According to Managing Director, Gra-
hame Danaher, Queensland has become
a focus for growth for Westfund. The
organisation already has a health fund
office at Moranbah and eye care centres in
Mackay and Rockhampton.
The city of Mackay was deemed an
ideal location for the new dental clinic, as
it is an important service centre for Central
Queensland’s booming mining industry,
which has brought with it demands for
improved access to dental care for West-
fund’s members in the region.
Westfund’s Chief Dental Officer, Dr
Herdeza Verzosa, said the new Mackay
Dental Care Centre provided the oppor-
tunity to fill gaps in health services in
the communities Westfund serves. West-
fund has a heritage dating back to 1929
as a cooperative formed to bring medical
care to miners in the NSW Central West
town of Lithgow by funding the salary
of local doctors.
At the very outset, Westfund wanted
to provide a superior standard of dental
care with the very best in equipment and
experienced clinical staff at the landmark
Mackay facility. The clinic employs both
locally trained and overseas-qualified den-
tists, reflecting the wider trend of needing
to recruit overseas-qualified dentists to fill
vacancies in both public and private prac-
tice in Central and Northern Queensland.
The build was project-managed by
AEG director, Rebecca Wood, who took
on the challenge of taking over from
another company to help oversee changes
involving a complete re-design of the
front of house area. AEG engaged Elite
to conduct the fit-out of the building and
designer Mark McKibbin to redesign the
front areas.
AEG also had to arrange the engi-
neering re-design of a disabled hydraulic
lift to provide wheelchair access without
obstructing the footpath or reception area
of the building. A small vertical lift plat-
form provided the answer while leaving
room for a conventional staircase.
surgery | DESIGN
Westfund sets high standard
at Mackay Dental Care Centre
By David Petrikas

2. May/June 2013 Australasian Dental Practice 203
Dr Verzosa oversaw the choice of equipment, which was based
on Westfund’s previous experience with A-dec delivery units.
The decision was further informed by a visit to A-dec’s manufac-
turing facility and showroom in Newberg, Oregon, USA, which
amply demonstrated the versatility and suitability of A-dec’s
Preference cabinetry whole-of-surgery solutions.
“Our original plan was for only four surgeries, based on the
floor space we had available,” Dr Verzosa said. “We then went
to A-dec in America and saw the A-dec cabinetry, the design of
which allowed us to add two more surgeries in the same space.
The double-sided A-dec central divider cabinet also allowed us to
share X-ray equipment between surgeries, with only three X-ray
units needed to service all six surgeries.”
The aim was to set up the practice for four-handed dentistry and
the “12 o’clock” work position for the dental nurse lent itself ideally
to that concept. It also meant the nurse is able to get up and leave
the surgery quickly if needed without going around the patient.
Each surgery comprises A-dec Preference pass-though rear
cabinetry and lead-lined Preference central divider units that are
purpose-built by A-dec to house an extending X-ray arm which
can be extended to either of the two adjacent surgeries.
Dr Verzosa explained that the surgery layout was compliant with
Work Health and Safety procedures and infection control protocols
based on the advice of infection control consultant, Lin Lochead.
With the A-dec 12 o’clock rear cabinets, dental assistants do not
have to travel throughout the surgery with dirty instruments, but
can store them out of the way in a tray in the rear cabinetry where
the steri nurse collects them without interrupting treatment.

3. 204 Australasian Dental Practice May/June 2013
The centrally located sterilization area is divided into two sepa-
rate rooms for contaminated instrument processing on one side
and instrument sterilization and storage in the room next door. A
pass-through window links the two areas.
After deciding on the clinical requirements, Dr Verzosa sought
inspiration from Australasian Dental Practice magazine and
from a surgery design DVD supplied by A-dec to come up with
a design direction for the new facility. She chose the colours, fin-
ishes, fabrics, murals, pendant lighting and even the door handles
and then communicated her brief to AEG to bring it all together.
“Rebecca Wood from AEG did a good job of keeping the pro-
ject progressing and on schedule and making sure the builders
and the hydraulics engineer met the necessary requirements,”
Dr Verzosa said.

4. 206 Australasian Dental Practice May/June 2013
The centrepiece of the clinical areas is a stunning full-length
wall mural at the foot of each surgery and the use of different
A-dec colour schemes to give each surgery its own personality
linking with the murals. “I’ve often read these magazines and
thought how nice it would be to be reading about our own dental
surgery in one of them,” Dr Verzosa commented.
Five of the surgeries have A-dec 500 chairs with cabinet-mounted
side-delivery systems, with an A-dec 300 ‘Radius’ style delivery
installed in the sixth surgery to cater for left-handed dentists. Each
surgery includes the latest A-dec “operating theatre” style LED
light, which reduces eyestrain by minimising shadows and also fea-
tures a “cure safe” mode for working with light-cured composites.
“We have A-dec 500 chairs in our NSW dental centre and
through this experience, we already know A-dec to be high quality
and very reliable. We need reliability in our dental facilities as being
a regional provider, we’re located far from the city. The nearest
A-dec equipment dealer is over four hours away in Townsville,
so we need to know our dental equipment will not let us down.”
ThesameemphasisappliestotheA-deccabinetry,whichincludes
built-in end sinks, computer cabinets, integrated cabling and ser-
vices, articulating assistant’s work surface, dedicated shelving
to fit common tub and cassette systems, pass-through rear-load
shelving and an efficient surgery design layout which aids work-
flow by providing separate entry and access for patients and staff.
Dr Verzosa said she learned the hard way that it’s best not to
cut corners in surgery fit-outs. “One of our earlier practices had
‘custom-built’ dental cabinets, which turned out to be ordinary
kitchen cabinetry. We have to constantly replace door handles
because they come out of the doors and the inbuilt glove holder with
an oval opening doesn’t fit a box of gloves without crushing it.”
In contrast, Dr Verzosa said the A-dec cabinetry at Mackay
looked great and worked perfectly. In addition, A-dec’s Territory
Manager, James Rosborough trained Westfund’s dental staff on
the proper operation all of the new A-dec equipment. A-dec’s
Townsville-based dealer, Medical & Dental Solutions North
Queensland (MDSNQ), now has a technician based in Mackay to
service the equipment when required.
“We’ve had some really great feedback from staff, patients and
even the builders who said the A-dec equipment was very impres-
sive,” Dr Verzosa said. “Looking at how it’s all come together,
I’m very proud of it and the fact that Westfund has invested in
the latest technology for the benefit of our members to give them
access to high quality dental care far away from the capital cities.”
Summary
The Practice
The Practice Westfund Dental Centre
Type of Practice General
Location Mackay, Queensland
Size 366 square metres
No of chairs 6
The Team
Concept Design Dr Herdeza Verzosa
Design/Engineering CEADS, McKibbin Design and AEG
Construction Elite Fitout Solutions
Project Managers Rebecca Wood (AEG); Will Robb (Elite)
Installer Medical, Dental Solutions North
Queensland (MDSNQ); MOB Enterprises
(sterilisation); Westfund IT Department
Equipment
Units A-dec 500 542 (wall-mount delivery)
A-dec 300 on 500
A-dec 545 Assistant’s instruments
Sterilisation Melag Vacuklav 44B+ with
Melasoft Barcode Label Printer and
Melatherm thermal disinfector
X-Ray Acteon X-Mind x-ray units with
Sorodex Digora Optime PSP scanner
Suction Tandem Cattani Turbo Smart C2A
with amalgam retention
Compressor Cattani K500E
Software OASiS and Digora for Windows