The following new features, enhancements, and updates will be available in your AWARDS database beginning on Friday, December 4th.  

We're excited to release another round of Calendar enhancements this month, including easier access to the scheduling pop-up, an All Staff toggle to allow users to quickly select all staff members at once when scheduling a staff event, and - for agencies that allow conflicting program appointments - selection of multiple clients when scheduling. 

Easier Scheduling

For easier scheduling of events, clicking on a date/time block on the Calendar when using Week or Day display opens the scheduling pop-up, and for certain events the selected Date and Start Time (in hour increments) appear as the default on the form. Clicking on a day in the Month display also opens the scheduling pop-up, and the selected Date appears as the default on the form. These defaults apply to program appointments, staff events, and staff trainings. 

All Staff Toggle

When scheduling a Staff Event, a new All Staff toggle is included, allowing users to quickly select all staff members from the Staff Selection list. If needed, specific names can be removed from the list by clicking the x next to those staff members' names.  

Scheduling Program Appointments with Multiple Clients

For agencies set to allow the scheduling of conflicting program appointments (overlapping clients and staff resources), the Client Selection list when scheduling a program appointment now allows for multiple client selections. Once saved, appointments where multiple clients are scheduled are displayed on the Calendar for each selected client as a single event, and any edits apply only to that single client's instance of the event. 

More Enhancements Coming Soon!

Thank you to everyone who shared Calendar feedback with us!  We are reviewing all of the submissions and they will assist us in prioritizing what we work on next.  Included in upcoming changes are two items of particular note:

  Improved performance - We are hard at work on Calendar performance with the goal of providing faster loading times when working with the Calendar and events.  We'll release and announce the resulting changes as soon as they're ready!

  Enhanced functionality for recurring appointments/events - We are working to provide greater flexibility around editing recurring program appointments and staff events so that you will be able to edit one event in a series, one event and all that follow, or all events.  Stay tuned for more on these enhancements!

Up until now, when you were on the face sheet in a central intake program and made a referral or placement into another program, only workers with either the "Central Intake Placement Request" or "Central Intake Placement Notification" internal audit message permissions would receive the notification. Based on your feedback an enhancement has been made so that now the worker making the placement and their supervisor will also receive the applicable notification message, even if they have not been granted the relevant internal audit permission. 

Previously, when an agency wanted to modify signature sets in E-signature Configurations, the original signature set would need to be inactivated first and then a new set created. As part of our ongoing efforts to make E-signatures Configurations more comprehensive and user-friendly, we've now improved the workflow to allow edits to specific fields without having to inactivate the signature set, even when that set is already in use.  Specifically, for active sets that have been used to sign existing notes, the following fields and options are now editable (in addition to those already available for editing).  Keep in mind that edits will only apply to notes signed from the moment of change, forward, and will not impact already signed notes.

  Lock Employee Drop-down

  Authority Level

  Authority Level Other

  Refused/Unavailable Reasons

  Images Allowed 

  Display Comments/Notes

In addition, when working with inactive signature sets this enhancement also includes the added ability to edit the Signing Window field. 

Foothold has been diligently working with our partners at HealtheConnections to enable a more fully featured and reliable C-CDA Document Retrieve feature. This feature lets users pull back a curated medical record from the Health Information Exchange and add the document and records from it to a consumer's record in AWARDS. With the addition of this feature, the AWARDS connection with HealtheConnections is now "fully-featured" providing outbound C-CDA, C-CDA retrieve, and alerts to agencies in their catchment area. If your agency uses HealtheConnections, here's what you need to know to start using C-CDA Retrieve:

  The Retrieve button is available in the Clinical Documents section of the face sheet for users with Interoperability Center permission. If you need the permission or the section, please contact the Foothold Help Desk.

  Retrieve only returns documents for consumers who have consent electronically recorded in AWARDS.

Customers with Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) funding that use the PATH Annual Report Survey (ARS) will notice the addition of new questions as per updated HUD specifications. The new questions ask for a count of persons who could not be enrolled because they could not be located, and responses to the question about Domestic Violence History. 

In Case You Missed It - A Look Behind the Curtain with Our Product Team

This month we introduce this new section of FootNotes, dedicated to bringing you up to speed on great AWARDS add-ons you may not be aware of!  Each of these add-ons is available on a subscription basis.  Some are also included in the AWARDS Pro and/or Premium packages.

eMAR - Instant Up-to-date Medication Data, Linked Directly to Your Client Records!

The AWARDS MedSupport feature (provided by our eMAR partner, CaraSolva) is an add-on service that allows agencies to organize and automate repeatable medical functions, such as medication administration, vital sign readings, and other designated tasks.  With this integration, medication information and client census data is shared across the two systems, keeping everything current and ensuring no duplicate data entry needs. There is also single sign-on access, keeping things simple so that staff don’t need to remember and use multiple login credentials.  And that’s just the beginning.  Click here to learn more!

Did you know...

Many exciting changes have been happening at Foothold Technology as we reorganize our teams to ensure we are providing our customers with the best EHR product and the highest possible level of service. Previous editions of FootNotes have highlighted the recent changes on the Product and Development side, and we are now excited to announce new changes on the Services side. Earlier this quarter, the Customer Success and Advocacy team merged with the Support team to form a comprehensive Customer Experience (CX) team. 

Headed up by VP Melissa Seymour, who has been with Foothold for 20 years, the CX Team's mission is to provide Foothold customer’s with a holistic and successful customer experience. This newly combined team, which consists of Support, Implementation, Billing, Integrations, and Customer Success and Advocacy, manages all aspects of the customer relationship. With these changes your engagements with your CX team representative will remain the same, but with the added benefit that Support and Customer Success are now more closely aligned to ensure truly seamless service and support for you and your users.

As part of this reorganization, we are thrilled to be formalizing a dedicated focus on Customer Advocacy. Paul Rossi, who has been with Foothold for 19 years and was most recently VP of the Customer Success team, has transitioned into the role of Head of Customer Advocacy, where his key focus is to work with the team on building and maintaining a customer community to drive its engagement in support of a positive customer experience.

Another exciting change has been the introduction of a customer survey - which you may have received in one of the previous two quarters. Foothold has adopted the long-standing and trusted Net Promoter Score (NPS) index.  NPS is just one measure of customer experience that allows us to start to look at how AWARDS is perceived by our customer base along their journey from initial implementation through ongoing AWARDS utilization. The NPS survey will be sent out each quarter and we're looking forward to your feedback on our next survey in December.  Please tell us how we are doing, and be sure to include comments if you'd like to engage beyond the numeric rating.  The information we gather is invaluable in letting us understand how you're feeling and will inform the development of AWARDS and the services we provide.

CX Team members are excited and energized by these recent changes, and we are already seeing increased collaboration and efficiencies that are enhancing all the ways we aim to support all of you. We thank you for continuing to take this journey with us and look forward to ongoing work with you, our valued customers, as you continue to use AWARDS.

In this month's installment of News From the Field, David discusses the importance of paying increased attention to the national opioid and sucide crises, and what effects the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will have on these critical behavioral health concerns. He reminds us that we can all play an important role when it comes to supporting those in need, especially as we embark on the holiday season and increased pandemic-related isolation and challenges.

COVID has changed our lives in many ways.  For most people, it has turned their world upside down. Whether it is the complexity of integrating work with newly anointed roles such as home-schooling, or the attempt to balance the family budget when there is little to no income to manage. For some, it has been living in fear every day they go to work in a Behavioral Health or IDD program, a hospital, the grocery store, and many other essential jobs that bring them in contact with others every day. And for many, it is the resulting isolation and withdrawal. These major life changes are difficult, however it is important to remember that we often have a network of support that we can depend upon, be it someone to sit with and talk to, or a place one can go to just unwind. For a significant group of individuals, however, these mechanisms of coping have not been available. 

Prior to the pandemic, our country was in the middle of many other significant crises. Most notably for Behavioral Health professionals - the ever-growing opioid crisis and the increased suicide rates and trends over the past 5 years. There is no doubt that the pandemic will have a notable and detrimental impact on these two crises. With the potential of another spike in COVID cases as we try to return to normalcy, we are going to find that these two crises are still with us, and potentially even worse. As we work to recover from the pandemic, there is no telling what the full effects will be on the opioid and suicide crises, and we have a scary road ahead of us, with unprecedented behavioral health needs facing our country.

Early studies are showing that the opioid crisis has definitely not taken a break during the pandemic, but instead has become more rooted in our society and poses an even greater national threat than before. As noted by Wendy Clubb, a behavioral health and chemical dependency counselor at Medical City Green Oaks Hospital, "COVID-19 has really been a challenge for people suffering from addiction." Anxiety, grief, isolation, financial worries, changes at home and work, as well as the ongoing sense of uncertainty can all threaten people, and for individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD), as well as those at risk of developing one, this is an extra dangerous point in time. In addition to these factors being triggers for their substance use disorder, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) notes that these individuals are more likely to have suppressed immune systems and as such are at greater risk for respiratory infections, and may have chronic, underlying health conditions such as lung and heart diseases. These health factors could present a greater risk for COVID-19 infection, or more serious cases of the virus.

The pandemic has also resulted in increased rates of clinical anxiety and clinical depression, and if clear steps are not taken, this can potentially result in an increase in the already crisis-level rates of suicide in this country. Based on how Americans are dealing with the adaptation to a new way of living and what may be a long road back to normalcy, many mental health professionals are concerned that suicide rates will greatly increase over the next few months. Even with a vaccine and the potential for a dramatic reduction in the spread of COVID, the financial and emotional devastation will take a long time to recover from. 

Suicide rates had actually been on the rise already. In fact, in 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that suicide deaths among those ages 16 to 64 had increased to 35% in less than two decades. But there are new factors related to the pandemic and subsequent crises that could potentially contribute to a further increase in the rate of suicides - increased social isolation and loneliness, high rates of unemployment, the potential downturn in the economy (recessions are historically associated with increased rates of suicide), mass grief from the volume of lives lost so rapidly, and potential neurological conditions that might arise from the COVID-19 virus. 

Suicide is not a new national problem, but now is the time for us to break the stigma around mental health issues and tackle this crisis head-on in a methodical, proactive way. Although early studies have not shown significant increases in the rate of suicide, they have not shown that the suicide rate is decreasing. It is important that we, individually and collectively, recognize the potential of COVID-19 related suicide and take a public health approach to prevent this potential problem. One major step was the National Suicide 3 Digit Hotline, 988, which was signed into law this month and will be fully operational in July of 2022.  But we must do more. One key step is to teach the public how to recognize the signs and offer support. To most of you, this is not new, but it bears repeating so that we can all embrace our roles as disseminators of information, and help build grassroots support networks throughout the nation.  

Be it for suicide-related concerns, or an opioid/substance-related issue, seeking professional help is always a critical step. There are many things we can do to help. Let them know that you are there for them and help them create a safety plan, which would include calling 911 and seeking professional emergency help if they feel they may do harm to themselves or others. Being an empathic listener can be extremely helpful. Offer to help - as sometimes people are feeling so overwhelmed that offers to help can ease the burden more than we know. One of the most important things is to help the person access therapy, and support them through the process. These are all known solutions, and they are not all guaranteed, but they provide a framework and set of options for friends, family, and coworkers to be aware of. Suicide is the ultimate end, as is opioid related death, and the devastation that is left for everyone is forever lasting. 

Behavioral Health issues aside, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways - the loss of loved ones, changes to the way we live at home, how we work or socialize with others, the list goes on. It is critical that we also recognize that there are societal issues as well that need attention, and as a community, we need to give them the attention they require in order to avoid the already looming epidemics growing even larger. During the upcoming months as we journey through the holiday season in the midst of a pandemic that continues to grow and wreak havoc on our lives, we must all come together and support those around us and remind everyone that we can all play a role in helping those in need.

In 2015, Foothold established the AWARDS Impact Prize to recognize customers who have leveraged AWARDS to measurably impact the health and well-being of the communities they serve. We are excited to use this section of FootNotes to share their amazing work with all of you.  

This month we highlight Gateway Hudson Valley, located in Kingston, New York, who began using AWARDS in 2002 as a part of a larger Homeless Management Information System. Gateway serves individuals with developmental disabilities, mental health diagnoses, the aging population and those in search of support. Although many of Gateway's programs used AWARDS for documenting services, the agency continued to use a mostly paper-based system, in part due to limited time availability of AWARDS system administrators, as well as cultural unease within the agency around technology and change.

Over the past year, Gateway's executive team has worked to promote an environment of change and use of technology to advance the organization, including exploring ways to make their staff’s duties more efficient, reduce duplication of work, and remotely audit and retrieve needed information. They have revamped their incident review process, moved to the new Plans and Reviews Module, customized programs with FormBuilder forms, enhanced their use of electronic signatures, and began using the Interoperability module. As the Chief Quality and Compliance Officer of Gateway Hudson Valley, Courtney Beaupre has been vital to that process.

Congratulations to Courtney of Gateway Hudson Valley as a 2020 Impact Prize winner!

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