Technology solutions support an increasingly burnt-out workforce
by TJ Garigen, Chief Financial Officer, FEI Systems
Support coordinators are exhausted.
Compassion fatigue, coupled with the physical and mental toll of countless site visits and hours spent on paperwork all contribute to the burnout plaguing health and human services workers. Support coordinators especially, are managing growing caseloads and associated tasks, not to mention navigating the challenges and uncertainty of an ongoing Public Health Emergency. The negative impacts of burnout caused by a severely overloaded system struggling to meet an ever-increasing demand for health and human services is not new news. We were facing these realities long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we’ve seen these challenges increase exponentially in recent years.
Yet, these dedicated and compassionate individuals continue to show up to work, day after day. The long drives for site visits, hours spent on paperwork and endless to-do lists are accepted, and dare I say embraced, as part of the daily grind … until they become too much.
This challenge hits home for me because as the Chief Financial Officer for FEI Systems I’m not only responsible for the fiscal health of our organization, I also oversee talent management. As a leader in an organization dedicated to supporting those on the front lines of case management, my concerns for these support coordinators are threefold. I worry for their health and well-being, the potential impact on the clients they serve, and how burnout is contributing to workforce shortages around the country. I would argue, and I think it’s safe to assume you’d agree, a supported case management workforce with appropriate work-life balance can better serve those in need of health and human services in our communities.
At FEI, we get it. Many of my colleagues have been on the front lines of this workforce crisis and have seen what happens when the pressures of case management become too great to handle. We understand helping support coordinators navigate their daily challenges is vital to the work of health and human services agencies, and ultimately the members they serve. And we’re here to help.
We build comprehensive technology solutions that contribute to streamlined delivery of health and human services for those with the greatest need. Our Blue Compass case management solution helps reduce stress and decrease the time required to collect data from program members. Support coordinators need only sign into their personalized dashboard to view and work through to-do lists and action items. From the dashboard they can easily call or video chat members and navigate to member information and required forms. From anywhere – even a member’s living room couch or a meeting spot at the local library, with or without Wi-Fi access – they can complete assessment forms, log case notes and file incident reports – and trust the information will be properly saved.
Our solutions can also help our clients avoid a pricey consequence of this workforce crisis. As we partner with state agencies and other organizations to implement solutions that ease administrative burden, and therefore alleviate burnout and reduce staff turnover, we contribute to significant cost savings over the long term.
I’m certainly not suggesting our enterprise technology solutions are a magic wand that will wave away one of the greatest challenges facing our industry today. I do, however, believe they make it easier for our clients to navigate this ongoing crisis and continue to provide quality services to the most vulnerable members of their communities. I’m proud to play a role in creating cost-effective solutions that on an individual level, allow support coordinators and other case management professionals to remain focused on what matters most to them and on a global scale, improve the way health and human services are delivered.
