First Call Technology was born out of an agency that’s been working in the area of substance use disorders for over 65 years. With these roots, we are committed to education, prevention and treatment of individuals, and their families, in our community. Welcome House, a First Call Technology partner, shares our passion for healing and recovery.
Jamie Boyle, Welcome House’s president and CEO stops by on his Harley with his super cool tattoos to share the impact our case management software, Community CareLink, has had on his organization. Did we mention we want to be Jamie when we grow up? We do.
Hi Jamie, cool bike. Tell us how Welcome House contributes to the community?
Thank you! Welcome House is an 80-bed residential sober living recovery provider for men 21 years and older. Our purpose is to educate, rehabilitate and support the alcoholic/addict, empowering his potential to positively contribute to society and live a healthy, productive life free of alcohol and drug use.
What does your programming look like?
Our foundation is the 12-step recovery program, but on top of that, we’re a structured nine-month program that has varying levels of requirements and interventions for participants.
How does Community CareLink help with that?
Oh man, the impact Community CareLink has is huge. Before we partnered with First Call Technology, we measured outcomes and documented and facilitated a resident’s progress through either multiple spreadsheets or disparate systems. There was so much paper in so many filing cabinets that trying to understand a resident’s participation or manage their progress was very difficult. On top of that, understanding how the overall program was performing in order to make improvements was a significant challenge. With Community CareLink, we can make decisions based on actual evidence, information and experience data.
What return on investment have you seen?
You know, we did spend some money (laughs). But, the true value of a system is held in how well it serves my organization. We were not interested in an off-the-shelf product where we had to force our program to flex or accommodate the system. We needed a system that would accommodate our program and where we wanted to take it. There weren’t any systems I looked at that were capable of accommodating the workflow, forms and customized documentation that Community CareLink can provide. We’re now able to completely accelerate what recovery looks like with a focused, intentional and purposeful path behind it. From that perspective, Community CareLink is worth every penny.
How are you using data to get more funding?
I’m able to communicate what’s happening within the program in a completely different way with funders and my board. I’m driving my successful outcome number by the resident’s participation and the staff’s documentation within Community CareLink. There’s a million different ways I can slice and dice the data to definitively show an interested party the specific details they’re after so they can see their investment gift at work for good. Down the road, this will lead to even more funding because we’ll be able to address a funder’s unique or specific ask related to the data and program participation. The possibilities are exciting.
Can you give us an example of what you mean?
Yea, sure! The most impactful result of this is that I can show them documentation and specific reporting on drug and alcohol screening for a calendar year, month, day, etc. For example, in the month of September, we administered 121 drug and alcohol screens. 26.45% of those tests were positive. 30 days later, we tested 57 individuals past the probationary phase, and 0% tested positive. If a funder wants those results today, with a few clicks in Community CareLink, I can show them the breadth of intervention and the scope of our work. So when I tell funders that we had a 36% success rate last year, I can show them the report! I’m able to show the level of management and intervention for an individual or the program as a whole instantly–before Community CareLink, that was not possible.
What response do you get when you present this data?
From what I’ve been told, our data-sharing ability far surpasses other organizations. Just last week, the Missouri credentialing board said that we are doing things that nobody else is doing from a documentation and reporting perspective. People walk in here, see how we’re using Community CareLink and honestly are speechless.
Not to brag, but that’s super cool. Like your tattoos.
(laughs). Yeah, I have a few, don’t I? One more thing I can say about ROI is this: the expected annual average successful outcome rate within the therapeutic community for a six to nine month model is 15 to 25%. We finished last year 11 points higher. And the way I look at it, each point higher equates to lives saved. My ROI is another life saved, another family made whole again, another kid that gets their dad back, another wife that gets her husband back. There is no way that’s possible without Community CareLink.
Take control of your data to help increase funding, enhance programming and improve your community. Talk with us about how today!