Nonprofit Healthcare Organization Model IT Infrastructure Ensures More Efficient, Streamlined Workflows

Situation

A nonprofit recovery center focused on holistic, research-driven behavioral health treatment and offers a variety of addiction and mental health services. The Hartford, CT-based organization has 300 employees and serves nearly 6,000 adult and teen patients daily.

The organization was looking for an outsourced managed IT services partner to transition from an in-house IT department. 

Challenge

In addition to moving to an outsourced provider, the organization was growing at a rapid pace and needed to better standardize, streamline, and secure their technology so they could easily scale as needed. 

They connected with Cooperative Systems to transform their IT infrastructure and systems. When it came time to build a new facility, CoopSys worked together with their team throughout the process. Since technology is central to the success of their service delivery model, this new facility provided the perfect opportunity to create a “model” facility that all facility buildouts going forward would emulate. 

Solution

Prior to the construction of the new facility project, Coopsys focused its efforts on tech improvements across all their existing facilities. This included standardizing their equipment, streamlining their data and workflows, and implementing a robust cybersecurity program. During this time, we transitioned them to O365 Office Suite, installed a VoIP phone solution, and upgraded their hardware and infrastructure to best support their ongoing growth. This process enabled us to bring all their systems up to modern standards, which laid the right foundation for the new center’s technology “model.”

For the new center, we participated in all stages of the new construction, from the early planning sessions to the grand opening and beyond. In addition to working on technology for the facility, we simultaneously continued to manage and support IT across their other 10 facilities.

The new facility also required multiple technology vendors to implement the plan, which included setting up connectivity, installing cabling, and more. Having that many IT-related vendors around can lead to unintentional errors. To prevent this, we coordinated and managed the additional tech vendors and their deliverables. We also worked with them on placement, access, and troubleshooting any issues that arose.

Lastly, the new center needed an audio/video (AV) setup for videoconferencing purposes and to meet patient education needs. We assisted them by finding and vetting the right AV vendor, who delivered a quality setup. 

Results

The recovery center experienced multiple benefits as a result of their technology decisions. First, the center operated more efficiently, with the ability to serve more patients. In fact, on its first day of operation, all patients were served. They were able to transition their team and work to the new center with minimal work disruptions while providing a seamless user experience. For example, a worker can move between different facilities and be instantly and securely connected to any systems on their network. In addition, the new facility can serve as the technology “model” for future new centers.