CARRIER SEKANI FAMILY SERVICES WIDE AREA NETWORK AND IM/IT STRATEGIC PLANNING PROJECTS OVERVIEW

The Agency• Incorporated as a Non Profit Society in 1990

– Carrier Sekani Family Services has a long history of delivering community based, professional and culturally appropriate services designed for Carrier and Sekani people.

• 11 First Nation Communities– Society membership is made up of persons who are registered members at the following 11 First Nations

communities: Sai’kuz First Nation (Stoney Creek Indian Band), Wet’suwet’en First Nation (Broman Lake Indian Band), Burns Lake Band, Cheslatta Carrier Nation, Nadleh Whut’en (Nautley Indian Band), Stellat’en First Nation (Stellaquo Indian Band), Takla Lake Band, Yekochee First Nation, Skin Tyee Band, Nee Tahi Buhn and Lake Babine Nation.

• 10,000 Members– Membership in the Society includes approximately 10,000 people. In addition to members, the Society delivers

service to all persons of Aboriginal ancestry. The Society operates on the basis of an open door policy and persons desiring service need only self-identify with being Aboriginal. It is estimated that the Society reaches more than 8,000 persons annually through program delivery.

• Large Service Area– The geographic service area of CSFS includes member First Nations and the municipalities of Smithers, Hazelton,

Burns Lake, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, and the city of Prince George.

• Covering more than 76,000 square miles– The Society maintains offices in the city of Prince George and in Vanderhoof and Burns Lake B.C. Most health

services are administered from the Vanderhoof office while all other services are administered from the Prince George and Burns Lake offices. The Society delivers services in a broad geographic area covering more than 76,000 square miles.

Offices and Staff

• CSFS now employs approximately 140 staff based out of three main offices.– These locations include Prince George, Vanderhoof and Burns Lake.

• Services being delivered to clients include:– Health (Nursing, Mental Health, Mobile Diabetes, Non Insured Health Benefits, Home Care, Early Child

Development, HIV/AIDS, Youth Development and Addictions Recovery)

– Family Support (Home Support, Community Linkages, Life Skills and Bridging)

– Guardianship and Resources– Research and Program Development– Legal Services

Using Technology toEnhance Service Delivery

• CSFS already had a Wide Area Network (WAN) but only connected our major offices over standard internet connections using VPN. Connectivity in the communities was very poor or even non existent.

• With the emergence of Electronic Information Systems and realizing the benefits of eHealth and Telehealth Technologies, we knew the existing systems were not sufficient to meet the future needs of the organization or its clients.

• A funding proposal was created to secure the resources needed to create a high capacity, expandable and secure WAN that would not only connect CSFS’s offices but also each of the Health Stations where client services are being delivered.

WAN Project BenefitsClinical / Health:

• Primary health care: the CSFS WAN project will enhance, expedite and expand nurse and physician services into the communities.

• The WAN project will allow CSFS to implement an integrated Electronic Medical Record (EMR) information management system.

• Telehealth Services will help to decrease travel and increase access to Services.

• Technology will provide a better means of communication between the various levels of health care (e.g. acute, community, home care)

• Staff and clinicians will have better access to education and training using technology

WAN Project BenefitsChild and Family Services:

• The CSFS WAN project may serve as the enabler towards full delegation with the use of enhanced video conferencing services. A secure network is an absolute key component supporting this new service delivery model.

• Service enhancements: Child and Family interviews can be conducted via teleconference with the communities.

• Improved record keeping and efficient secure client record sharing.

WAN Project BenefitsResearch and Administrative:

• Research: economic and clinical analysis (cost of care) will be part of the tactical implementation of CSFS’ Information Management Strategic Plan.

• With the analytics emerging from the above data, CSFS will have greater capacity to do its’ business and strategic planning.

• Leverage new infrastructure to potentially reduce travel and communications costs. It can also provide an opportunity to evaluate of the Uninsured services.

• Overall improved communications between CSFS offices and external organizations.

• Improve the records keeping, reporting and administrative function capabilities.

Technology Partners• After a request for proposals was distributed to potential vendors CSFS partnered

with Telus and ABC Communications to develop an industrial grade WAN that is secure, reliable, and based on standards used by Health Authorities and Ministries within BC.

Key

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Project Kickoff Project Kickoff

September October November December

Satellite Testing Satellite Testing

Equipment Order Equipment Order

Equipment Staging Equipment Staging

Constructions Constructions

Detailed Design Detailed Design

Fiber Order Fiber Order

Fibre Entry Constructions Fibre Entry Constructions

Testing and Acceptance

Testing and Acceptance

Training Training

TestingTesting

August January February 2011

WAN Project Milestones – In Summary

IM/IT Strategic Planning Project• Its important as an organization to properly plan how we are going to use this new

network by building a road map that leads us to where we want to be in the future.

• Allows for input/insight from various stakeholders (both internal and external) in the development of the plan.

• Provides a comprehensive plan that identifies goals and objectives, priorities, what is feasible to accomplish and what resources (people, time, energy and money) will be required to achieve the expected outcomes.

• The purpose of this project is develop a Strategic Plan that will identify the most successful and beneficial activities, applications and overall utilization of the newly acquired Wide Area Network (WAN) for CSFS.

• The Network will require operational management, support, and a plan to ensure that it is being used in the most optimal, efficient and effective ways to support CSFS services and programs.

Building Upon the WAN Project• Each of the areas of Health, Child and Family Services, Research and Administration has IM/IT

requirements.

• With the WAN in place these requirements can be addressed but planning and consideration is needed for:– Priorities– Costs Resources available or required– Timing– Weighing of benefits (e.g. improved use of data, improved communications, better

utilization of services, financial benefits) vs. feasibility and risks– Big picture benefits vs. specific program benefits

• The Strategic Plan will help manage expectations and produce a realistic plan that provides the most benefit for implementation of IM/IT applications

IM/IT Strategic Planning Project Schedule – In SummaryKe

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Project Startup Project Startup

September October November December

Phase 1

Stakeholder Engagement (Internal and External)

Stakeholder Engagement (Internal and External)

Assessment of the Current IM/IT Environment

Assessment of the Current IM/IT Environment

Identification of Emerging Priorities for IM/IT

Identification of Emerging Priorities for IM/IT

Analysis and Documentation of

Findings

Analysis and Documentation of

Findings

Identification of Requirements for Priority

Strategic Directions

Identification of Requirements for Priority

Strategic Directions

Future Visioning WorkshopFuture Visioning Workshop

Phase 2 Stakeholder Identification Stakeholder Identification

Documentation Review Documentation Review

Finalization of Strategic Directions and requirements

Finalization of Strategic Directions and requirements

5-yr Strategic Plan Development Tactical (2

yrs) and high level Strategy (3yrs)

5-yr Strategic Plan Development Tactical (2

yrs) and high level Strategy (3yrs)

Communication and Change Management Plans

Communication and Change Management Plans

Present Final Plan Present Final Plan

Phase 3

Project Status ReportingProject Status ReportingJanuary 2011 February 2011

The IM/IT Strategic Plan Will Address…• Strategic Planning starts with identification of questions that the organization needs answers

to– Some of these questions include:

• What existing technologies with the new WAN could be further leveraged to provide additional capabilities to Health, Child and Family Services, Research and Administration?

• What new IM/IT applications and services should be considered and prioritized for implementation within the next 5 years?

• What IM/IT applications should be considered to help reduce costs and help increase efficiencies and capabilities?

• How will external stakeholders (e.g. Northern Health, Health Canada, FNIH) and providers play a role in the outcomes of this strategic planning and what consideration is required of these stakeholders within the plan?

• How will the Strategic Plan work in consideration of research and educational institutions?

• What financial opportunities and savings could be leveraged?

Importance of Stakeholder Engagement

• Internal Stakeholders (Administration, Directors, Managers, Frontline staff, physicians and others) provide insight into the overall operations of the organization and individual programs

• Also provide details that are not obvious but are key to understanding the various components of a program that are affected by or affect the decisions for IM/IT implementation

• External Stakeholders may have an impact on funding, decisions made regarding IM/IT applications and support

Status of the IM/IT Strategic Plan

• Meetings have taken place with internal and external Stakeholders (Administration, Directors, Managers, Frontline staff, physicians and others) who provided their thoughts on how the WAN project can enhance their ability to provide services to their clients, as well as streamlining their daily operations and information management.

• A six year plan is in draft that address’s identified needs in several IM/IT areas. Some of these include:

– Integrated Electronic Record (iER) Requirements Development

– Telehealth Program Development

– IT Support Enhancement Plan

– Implementation of the Integrated Electronic Record (iER)

– Implementation of Telehealth Strategy

– Implementation of an Integrated Human Resource Management Information System

– Panorama Implementation (Immunization)

Building Future Capacity using Local Employment

• With the expansion of technology services and program development to utilize the new WAN, CSFS will be looking to the local communities to fulfill staffing requirements in the areas of:

• I.T and technology support• Family and Health services• Research and Program Development• Many others..

Knowledge Sharing

• From the start of the WAN project, CSFS has always ensured that the success of our project could be shared with other First Nations and organizations who deliver similar services to their clients.

• Replicating the success of this project ensures many things:

– No need to reinvent the wheel when a proven solution has already been demonstrated

– Technology and standards are consistent across the board

– Policies and Privacy standards are set and meet the requirements of major partners like Northern Health and the Ministry of Child and Family

– These standards allow for information sharing between partners (Electronic Medical records, secure Video Conferencing etc)

Serving the People

• The WAN project is a technology plan that enables CSFS to enhance their ability to service their clients. All this technology is exciting and state of the art, but in the end the entire purpose is enhancing the lives of individuals and families within our communities.

Questions and Discussion