Social workers report that the rate of PTSD among veterans and active military personnel is significantly higher than in the general population. PTSD occurs when one branch of the nervous system generates massive amounts of survival (fight or flight) energy to meet a threat, only to find the threat so overwhelming that there’s no way to use this energy for self-protection.

Over the holidays I volunteered at my daughters’ school.  While there I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the teachers.  During our conversation we talked about the many things happening in our local schools and here in the county. Out of the various topics we discussed, one hit me very hard.  This teacher told me of the growing number of children who are "food insecure."  A term I had not heard before.  I was aware that our school offered discounted, sometimes free lunches to families who needed help, but was alarmed at the number of children in need in a community that is considered to be thriving.

When implementing new case management software - the best way to start is to take a hard look at employee behavior and identify what needs to change first.

Let me explain. 

Change is hard.  A new system brings a whole set of changes and process tweaks, for example which for some people is sometimes a slow process to adopt.

Bernie Sanders, a hopeful Presidential contender, has a simple message for Americans; the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. As it turns out, he’s right.

While working on an implementation at a customer site, I observed a caseworker in Michigan entering data into a SACWIS (State Automated Child Welfare Information System) computer system, then immediately enter the same data (plus some that SACWIS didn’t have) into the agency’s own system.

FAMCare makes data collection much easier and efficient.  Not only are electronic forms easy to read, the built-in workflow helps drive caseworkers in specific directions, helps them focus and keeps them productive. 

A friend of mine shared with me a personal experience that involved the loss of a friend.  I’m publishing his exact words here.  I also have a dear relative who is currently working through a debilitating illness at a hospice center.  As Frank mentions below – the professional hospice worker deserves our admiration and gratitude.  They have a tough job, however – manage to show empathy and support our loved ones – each and every day.

Reading View. Alt Shift A for Accessibility Help.

As the President of a Case Management Software company I have witnessed very wonderful software implementation projects and many that struggle. 

There are various reasons but in this post I’m going to pinpoint what I think is the most common issue.

An Entirely New Paradigm for Post-Acute Health Care Management

The managers of residential care facilities we work with everyday report that the residential care and post-acute health care industry is changing at an alarming rate. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has shifted its focus away from simply measuring volume, toward a pay-for-performance system focused on value and quality. The implications of this shift in payment processing and compliance procedures for management in post-acute care, nursing homes, and hospice facilities are vast, complex, and daunting. Managers are scrambling to measure quality outcomes, improve compliance, and emphasize the customer experience throughout their organizations.

The sharing of information has reached a break-neck pace.  There are no constants in how we collect and share information.  Every day, new ways to manage information are developed, found and employed by agencies.  The more sophisticated ones have embraced the latest technologies to make their agency better.  Yet, many agencies cling to a traditional model of case management, using paper as their foundation for collecting data, observing trends and assessing outcomes.