Lakes Region Mental Health will upgrade software with federal grant

LACONIA — Lakes Region Mental Health Center has plans to overhaul their electronic records-keeping software, and will use a $630,000 federal grant to do so.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) visited the center Friday to learn about the implementation process for the software, which is meant to enhance both the client and provider experience.

The grant comes from recent funding bills that included Congressionally-directed spending allocations.

“Last March we applied for some funding through Sen. Shaheen,” Beth Vachon, Lakes Region Mental Health Center director of development and public relations. “It was Congressional [discretionary] spending and it was approved.”

Congressionally-directed spending, formerly known as “earmarks,” are items within a broader bill that dedicate funds to certain programs or initiatives. Additional organizations in Laconia, Gilford, Alton, Tilton and Franklin received millions of dollars in the latest pool of funds.

“One thing I thought was interesting in the briefing was that it would give more time with patients,” Shaheen said. 

The grant funded the purchase of a new electronic records-keeping software called myAvatar from health technology company Netsmart and will be introduced on June 1.

“It will improve operational efficiencies and increase communication between our agencies and other providers,” Vachon said. 

The new computer system should enhance the organization’s ability to serve clients by streamlining processes and decreasing wait times for appointments, and also freeing up time in a provider’s day so each client can receive more thorough attention. 

The software will also allow LRMHC leaders to view a broader range of information including in-depth analytics and workflow and help them evaluate paths of treatment and client outcomes.

“It’s been a lot of hard work,” Vachon said, noting employees from many departments need to be trained on the new software, data from the current system needs to be transferred over and the program itself needs to be customized for their operations.

Now, staff are training their “super users” — employees who will use the system every day including informational technology staff, finance staff, clinicians and nurses.

“We couldn’t have done this project without this support,” Vachon said.

The upgrade is needed as the center deals with a major increase in demand for mental health services throughout the Lakes Region. During and after the pandemic, providers have noted a sharp uptick in requests for support from clients. 

“Post-pandemic, that demand has risen, most people would say, at least 20%,” Vachon said. “But that’s anecdotally — it’s actually probably more than that.”

Vachon noted isolation and stress plus an increase in the use of social media through the pandemic are likely factors in the increased demand for services.

Chelsea Lemke, clinical lead of the electronic health record project, said the process of implementation is long and arduous, but will pay dividends down the road. 

“We’ve been working on evaluating how the product works and adapting it to meet community needs,” Lemke said. “Also converting our current [electronic health records] system over to the new system — the efficiency is in moving to an updated system.”

Lemke said the new records system will also increase employee satisfaction and hopefully increase retention, noting that better communication will ease burdens. 

The new system will also greatly benefit the public, she said. There will be educational opportunities for clients plus a new patient portal, providing greater access to treatment. 

“We’re currently in an integration testing phase,” she said. “We want to make sure that there’s as little disruption as possible to the patient experience — it touches everything we do.”

Management spent a long time shopping around for softwares and decided on myAvatar in part because it’s also used by facilities in Manchester and Concord, enabling greater collaboration between all three, which is especially important post-pandemic, Lemke said. 

“We probably saw the biggest influx we’ve seen during COVID and it hasn’t really decreased.”

Chief Information Officer Steve Blongy said the change to a new electronic records system was borne of necessity. The program LRMHC previously used, Essentia, would be phased out within five years, so administrators needed to select a new system.

“We probably spent a good four or five months seeing demonstrations and talking to vendors,” Blongy said. “One of the big challenges will be getting the staff completely trained.”

But that process has already begun. Blongy and his team began testing the system last week, and so far it’s been smooth sailing. The real test will be upon implementation, however, which Blongy said will greatly benefit users and the community. 

“It will allow our staff to be able to do their documentation quicker,” he said. “It will also allow us to share information with our community partners — [clients will] notice quicker service and more access to staff.”

Blongy said the new software is a game-change for LRMHC.

“It will allow Lakes Region Mental Health to be a better community partner and be able to serve our community better.”