Microsoft - Empowering People.. who Empower People

Organization Information:

Organization Name:
United Services, Inc.
City & State:
Dayville, 
Connecticut
Organization Website:
http://www.unitedservicesct.org
Organization's Mission Statement

Mission Statement "United Services provides an effective response to the youth, family and adult social and behavioral health needs in its community."

Submission Information

Impact Essay

“United” with Microsoft and TechSoup in Creating Healthy Communities”

United Services, Inc. of Connecticut

 

United Services is Connecticut’s most comprehensive non-profit behavioral health center, providing treatment, support and housing for victims of domestic violence, and those with behavioral health challenges throughout all of Northeastern Connecticut, a diverse area of the state with a significant Latino population that has been hit particularly hard by the national recession.

 

Our agency vision is “Creating Healthy Communities” and thanks to Microsoft, TechSoup and our internal investment and commitment to optimizing our mission delivery through the innovative use of an electronic health record system, United Services is using Technology Solutions to help more people than ever before.

 

Even in the best of times, the per capita income of this rural “Quiet Corner” region of the state has always been lower, while unemployment rates have been higher, and individuals, children and families have seen an increased rate of abuse and behavioral health needs than elsewhere in the state and region. Now, as we endure the worst recession in recent memory, incidences of abuse, depression, addiction and other stress related issues are higher than ever before.

 

In some ways, United Services works to address issues that most of society would prefer not to think about, if they can possibly help it. Yet not only do the hard working, compassionate and committed professionals of United Services think about these issues, they make a positive impact each and every day, through a broad array of programs.

 

Yet at United Services our focus is not simply about programs, but about people - real people with real problems – who deserve the best chance to reclaim their lives so that all of society can benefit from their contributions. United Services’ professionals work to help and empower children, families and individuals to be all they can be, and lead happy and productive lives. Thanks to Microsoft and TechSoup, United Services has been able to achieve better outcomes and help more people than ever before.

 

Microsoft and TechSoup – Empowering People, who Empower People

Although other healthcare providers continue to simply talk about Electronic Health Records (EHR), United Services has quickly and fully embraced these innovations and can now begin to showcase the human dividends on this investment. These advancements in service delivery come not a moment too soon, as the economic recession has seen a significant spike in demand for all our services.

 

In particular, the demand for professional child guidance support from schools and families has seen our Child Guidance Clinic volume grow to become the largest in the state, with this agency in Connecticut’s rural “Quiet Corner” serving more children and families than any other. Yet even amid this high demand for service, United Service is the ONLY clinic in the state that is meeting or exceeding state Enhanced Care Clinic standards which requires children to be seen within two weeks of requesting an appointment.

 

How is United Services able to do what no other agency in the state has done? The answer can be found by noting how Microsoft and TechSoup have empowered our agency and the professionals who work here to meet the needs of our community.

 

Working smarter, working better, and serving more

Thanks to the foundation of Microsoft technology on which our EHR stands, all professionals have access to the real time data of their clients. No longer is time wasted tracking down paper records. All information is instantly accessed and updated to ensure that all team members working with clients have access to the same data to achieve the best outcomes possible in the shortest amount of time so that we can continue to address the high and increasing demand for services.

 

We have integrated Outlook into our EHR to allow providers to add their appointments automatically into Outlook and allow for better communication between providers and maintain cohesion between staff, allowing for better client care. Microsoft’s SharePoint Server has also enabled and encouraged collaboration between our staff even though they are spread through multiple sites across Eastern Connecticut and provided the framework to develop a centralized document management system

 

The partnership between, Microsoft and TechSoup has also allowed United Services to centralize our entire IT infrastructure to make it more efficient and “virtualize” servers to cut down on hardware and limit expenses. SQL Server 2005 had radically improved our organization in many ways. With the ability to ship transaction logs and mirror databases, we increased EHR redundancy, while the SQL Profiler has also allowed us to improve the speed of database access and implement multiple layers of security and audit trails to ensure we are current with state/federal privacy rules and regulations.

 

Even more importantly we have been able to utilize Analysis Services to track and trend Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Through the use of Reporting Services we utilize those KPIs to develop Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) for our clients to provide more effective services to more people and compare our outcomes to the National Outcome Measures (NOMs) established by the federal government.

 

Thanks to the Partnership between Citrix and Microsoft, we are also able to provide instant access to our EHR to our Emergency Service personnel. This is a critical advance allowing our Emergency Responders to acquire the most up-to-date information wherever they are and whenever they need it. This can be the strategic difference in life or death situations ranging from instances of domestic violence to attempted suicide or other critical behavioral issues in the community.

TechSoup and Microsoft – helping United Services and Eastern Connecticut Reach their Potential.

Our electronic health record is also a powerful productivity and management tool. Thanks to Microsoft we can learn more about our own tendencies as an agency, as well as know more about the preferences of the clients we serve, allowing us to adjust staffing and meet the increased demands of our community at a time when states are asking non-profit human services providers to do more with less.

 

United Services is proud to help people reach their potential and our technology partners deserve their share of credit as well. None of this would be possible without the partnership between Microsoft and TechSoup. Through their generosity we’re able to optimize our mission delivery in the most cost effective and efficient way possible, developing an EHR tailored to our needs as an agency, and make a difference in the lives of the children, families and individuals we serve.

Submission Category
Optimize Mission Delivery