Certified Trainers Blog

 Posts Tagged ‘Communication’

Hello everyone!

Hope that you are all doing well. I wanted to share some benefits that Mosaic has unexpectedly discovered from using Therap in a few of its agencies.

• One agency has decided to use Splash pages to notify employees of important information. For example, instead of printing out messages and placing them on the bulletin boards, they create splash pages since everyone logs into Therap daily. This has saved the cost of paper, printing, and time that it took to maintain the messages on the bulletin boards. Information shared via Splash Pages include the some of the following:
• Benefit enrollment
• Employee meetings
• Special contests
• Employee appreciation events
• The majority of our current agencies using Therap have felt a sense of increased communication among staff.  The numbers back that up with over 13,000 SComms and almost 27,000 T-Logs in one month for 11 agencies.

One of my earliest Therap revelations came when I realized that Therap is not just a form of electronic documentation…it is a way of communicating and doing business better.  Information is organized in smart modules that promote rapid access and analysis. Simply put, Therap helps us communicate more efficiently and more thoroughly so we can make better decisions.

For example, Progress Industries uses ISP Data for programmatic progress notes because this module features such powerful analysis and reporting tools.  We use T logs for communication of NONprogrammatic data that the team needs to know.  [A quick reference note is also placed in T Logs to alert team members to special events. (E.G. High blood sugar reading at 2:00pm, see Vitals.)] We generally use S Comms for communicating to a particular staff, rather than the whole team.  One of the cool features of Therap is the flexibility it offers to various providers to cutomize the modules in a way that makes best sense to that agency.

Whatever design you choose at your agency, communication is enhanced when staff understand and follow that plan. For example when a staff at our agency sends programmatic information via S Comm, we find that sometimes team members are inadvertently omitted from the recipient list. Similarly, data entered into T Logs is not automatically captured in official ISP Data logs and requires time consuming data analysis of information inputed across various modules.  Of course, plenty of opportunities for exceptions arise, and it’s not usually a big deal. Often, simple reminders about how to use the tools suffices to get everyone on the same page. But we’ve found that agreeing on how we communicate as an agency and using the Therap modules consistently with our design is essential to achieving great results.

So…., word came out that Justin is coming to AZ. What a long time it has been since you were here last. Many of us in the CLP program at CCS recall those sessions of video shooting and sit-down interviews with Justin and the entire gang that was here in Tucson, those early days of Therap.

It would seem like Arizona would be at the top of the states using Therap. Unfortunately that is not the case. And why is that? That is a question I will have to ask Justin when he gets here. NO, I am just kidding! But honestly, I wonder what happened to AZ? Why is it that, an area that was a pioneer, is now amongst the last states to embrace the Therap technology?

Let’s just say, sometimes, you have to lead in order to follow. Or, you can look at it the other way round. Leading is not always from the front. Perhaps, AZ is still leading by pushing the rest to move forward. All is not lost for AZ. Thanks to the CCS/CLP, Therap is alive and well in southern Arizona. Justin’s coming will go along way in re-energizing the service here in the Old Pueblo and hopefully motivate expansion into the entire southwest region and beyond.

So, as Justin prepares to fly over to Tucson, I hope he will make sure his business satchel will be bulging with “goodies” to entice the business communities in this region, that need Therap but have not taken the ride, simply because no one has introduced them to the wonderful communication platform.

At LifeQuest we are very excited about the Individual Home Page!

While in New York JP (my husband) and I were able to connect with family for dinner at PJ Clarke’s in New York City.  It was a very enjoyable evening!

Of course servers using a touch screen wall mounted computer caught my attention.  I was impressed with the efficiency of processing orders  It was very busy in the restaurant and I was impressed with how quickly they processed numerous orders and quickly entered updates.  If someone ordered another drink it was a quick entry into the computer and on to the next customer. 

While I was too far away to see “details” of the screen I was able to see there was a screen that had the layout of the restaurant.  The server would touch the table and another screen quickly popped up and they again touched several sqaures (very rapidly I might add).  I’m assuming it had categories such as drinks, appetizers, dinners, etc.  When they were ready to process the bill a receipt appeared on the screen. They were able to process credit cards with this same computer and print receipts on a small stand by the computer.  Minimal space required for the entire operation.

The Individual Home Page is evidence that Therap is once again responsive to feedback and making access to information for employees/families reviewing and entering information more user friendly and efficient.

Thanks Therap!

Life on the farm is – really not laid back -middle of February in Nebraska and I see onions sprouting? Soon we should have snow!

Just returned from the 38th Annual  Nebraska ARC Senatorial Appreciation Dinner in Lincoln. 250 miles of windshield time provides for lots of thinking. Rumor has it that there are a few more providers in Nebraska thinking about using Therap. YEAH!!  I had  conversations with one of the providers in a more rural, larger geographical area than we, about getting on board.   They are excited. Even though we are taking baby steps to get this implemented and have some tech issues we are persevering.  That sounds like it is a chore, but it is not. Information sharing is already better.