"She is definitely a member of our team. People actually call [the office] asking for her. She does all of our follow-up, she does a lot of insurance breakdown, she's not getting bogged down with patients in the office. She's ridiculously efficient anyway but her level of efficiency is unmatched. She accomplishes in 40 hours sometimes what a full-time person cannot."
— Dr. Audra Ward, Periodontist and Practice Owner
The Challenge
Dr. Audra Ward, a periodontist and owner of Ward Periodontics, found herself in a familiar predicament: she wanted the support of a virtual assistant but wasn't confident she could keep one busy full time.
"I had personally wanted a virtual assistant for myself, but I knew I couldn't keep that person busy full time virtually,"Audra explains. It was her sister-in-law — already a satisfied BELAY client — who encouraged her to give the company a call.
Audra and her practice administrator, Emily Arnold, began exploring what kind of support would genuinely move the needle for their nine-person team. They needed someone vetted, intelligent, and responsive — a professional who could span multiple responsibilities as both a business administrator and personal assistant for each of them. Finding that person through traditional hiring had proven elusive, making BELAY's model of pre-vetted contractors an appealing alternative.
The Solution
BELAY matched Ward Periodontics with VA Sierra, and the relationship started small.
"When we first started with Sierra, we were really just looking at one-off type projects,"Emily recalls — early assignments included coordinating building signage. But Sierra's capabilities quickly made a case for a more permanent role.
Over time, Sierra became a genuine, integrated member of the Ward Periodontics team. She took over patient-facing communication, stepped in to cover for employees who were out of the office, and began handling insurance breakdowns, scheduling, and follow-up with patients who had outstanding treatment plans. She works most closely with Emily day-to-day while regularly communicating with and supporting four members of the broader team.
Rather than waiting to be directed, Sierra actively identifies how to make the best use of her available hours.
"She was a perfect fit for us. She's been able to tackle any project with zest and ease,"Audra says — a testament to how naturally Sierra integrated into the practice's workflows and culture.
"Those little problems that eat you alive have really gone away. She doesn't say, 'Hey, here's a problem for you.' She says, 'Hey, I see this problem but I'm taking care of it.'"
— Dr. Audra Ward, Periodontist and Practice OwnerThe Impact
The impact of bringing Sierra on board has been felt throughout the practice and in Audra and Emily's lives outside of it. Both rely on Sierra for personal tasks like vacation planning and email management, but the more significant shift is the room she's created for each of them to do their best work.
"What frees us up personally is her ability to drive parts of the business that we can delegate to her with a level of comfort that doesn't exist with other people,"Audra says.
Sierra's efficiency has become a defining quality of the partnership — accomplishing in 40 hours what some full-time staff cannot. Equally important is her proactive approach: she identifies and resolves problems before they escalate.
"Those little problems that eat you alive have really gone away. She doesn't say, 'Hey, here's a problem for you.' She says, 'Hey, I see this problem but I'm taking care of it.'"
In just over a year, the partnership has grown from scattered one-off tasks to a deeply trusted working relationship — one where patients call the office specifically asking for Sierra. For Audra, the result is simple: "It's better for me to be in the room with patients, treating patients. That's my best utilization." Sierra has made that possible.