Advocating for Iowa children and families for over 125 years, Crittenton Center’s qualified and caring employees are providing innovative care through trauma-informed interventions, evidence-based practices, and researched play-based curriculums.
Crittenton’s Transitional Therapeutic Home and Supervised Apartment Living programs provide a safe shelter for kids in foster care who are between homes or beginning to transition to the next phase in life.
Crittenton Center had been managing its programs and services through a mix of paper forms and an outdated set of digital tools when it chose to partner with Qualifacts and move its work to the CareLogic EHR platform. Inspired by discussions with a Qualifacts customer that has successfully improved efficiency and staff satisfaction with CareLogic and related solutions, Crittenton was ready to make the workday better for its staff and the people they serve.
“It was time to step up to the next level in our clinical documentation, billing and claims processing, and reporting and analytics workflows,” said Beau Sudtelgte, VP of Finance and Administration at Crittenton.
“It was time to step up to the next level in our clinical documentation, billing and claims processing, and reporting and analytics workflows,” said Beau Sudtelgte, VP of Finance and Administration at Crittenton.
The availability of peer leaders in the community was high on Crittenton’s priority list for choosing Qualifacts. Collaboration and knowledge sharing enhance the support offered by Qualifacts subject matter experts, CareLogic EHR discussion groups, and ongoing training and education opportunities.
Crittenton celebrated their CareLogic EHR “Go Live” on July 1, 2023, and the intervening months have been a time of progress. “We got everything we wanted,” Sudtelgte said. Working with teams of dedicated subject matter experts throughout implementation and CareLogic EHR training adds to the value of the platform’s ease of use and configurability. Visualizing new ways of working was a collaborative effort.
Now that Crittenton is experienced with using the CareLogic EHR, team members work together to make updates as programs change and grow. Self-management of updates to forms and workflow is one of the key benefits EHR platforms from Qualifacts offer.
Client data is more available to Crittenton teams through the CareLogic EHR than it was before – faster and more easily – which enhances decision making for managing treatment plans and increases efficiency and for reporting information across care team members. “We no longer scan and save paper forms on our network drive, and that alone saves time and makes data easier to find,” Sudtelgte said.
“We no longer scan and save paper forms on our network drive, and that alone saves time and makes data easier to find,”
Data Integration
With data more visible now where it is needed through CareLogic, not across paper and emails, Crittenton team members can pull reports more easily now to understand timeframes for discharges and returns, and more easily gain insights into how people are doing and how we are to help them. Information flows more quickly and more effectively to team members who need it. “Staff can now easily see the information they need, make updates, and plan next steps. We are saving time. We can track more data, and more effectively use that information,” Sudtelgte said.
Ease of Use Documentation
Crittenton care team members working directly with clients have also gained visibility, ease of use, and enhanced accuracy with documentation recorded with CareLogic to manage hand-offs across shifts. “When it’s time for a shift change and the handoff of shift notes, our floor staff have already input what needs to be entered into CareLogic and the information is right there for the manager to sign off on and for the next shift to review,” Sudtelgte said. “It’s incredibly efficient.”
Dispensing and documenting medications is a critical part of Crittenton’s care, and accuracy and ease of use are through the electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR) in CareLogic has been a great leap over paper in scheduling, reviewing, and tracking. “Creating the medication pass windows in CareLogic and documenting what medications were given has been going really well. The eMAR is also working for us when our clients leave for a family visit or a court date or if they are getting care elsewhere. We can package their medication and document it,” Sudtelgte said.
Revenue Cycle Management & Care Coordination
Managing and tracking the revenue cycle—billing, claims, and reimbursements—through CareLogic has saved Crittenton staff time and effort, as the work has become simpler and more efficient than before. “Billing is going so much better and more easily now with the automated processes within CareLogic,” Sudtelgte said. “It’s easier to track. It’s easier to make corrections. It’s just faster and better.”
Care coordination and communication is also simplified with CareLogic. “Our case workers can quicky access information in CareLogic whenever they need it. If they’re on a call with an external care team member, they can pull up information easily for updates,” Sudtelgte said.
“The transition from paper to a fully integrated EHR was a big change, and we’re settling in. This way of working was new for almost everyone. Qualifacts partnered with us to make sure we got the support we needed. We are where we need to be,” Sudtelgte said.
About Crittenton Center
Crittenton Center is a nonprofit organization that specializes in Child and Family Development, and Child Welfare and Well-being. For over 125 years, we have placed children and families at the center of every decision we make. Crittenton Center’s qualified and caring employees provide innovative care through trauma-informed interventions and approaches, evidence-based practices, and researched play-based curriculums. Additionally, we strive to educate, inform, and raise awareness in our communities about child abuse prevention, child development, and great parenting! Our mission is to shelter, educate, and empower children, individuals, and families.
Our Transitional Therapeutic Home (TTH) provides emergency placement for Iowa children ages 0-18 who can no longer safely remain in their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. These children may be brought in by the police or referred by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services or the Iowa Juvenile Court System.
Our Supervised Apartment Living (SAL) is a foster care program in which young adults ages 16.5-21 live first in a group-like setting on Crittenton Center’s campus.
