NPower DC Works with Human Services Provider to Save Money and Improve Staff Morale.

Threshold Services assists hundreds of individuals with mental illness and substance abuse problems through its combination of residential rehabilitation programs, outpatient clinics and home visits. With a main office in Silver Spring, Maryland and nine satellite locations across Montgomery County, Threshold Services requires a lot of technology to support a busy, mobile staff and a complicated billing system. Without a dedicated IT staff person, and an outside contractor who only visited once a week, Threshold’s 90+ computers were not maintained consistently. Outages and downtime were frequent. Threshold did not have a clear view of where technology fit into their organization’s strategy, and technology was often cited as a major source of frustration by the staff.

Through a referral from another NPower client, Abe Schuchman of Housing Unlimited, one of Threshold’s longtime partners, Threshold contacted NPower for assistance. NPower staff performed a comprehensive assessment of all hardware and software and made a series of recommendations, highlighting items by cost and priority. 

NPower advised Threshold that it would be more cost effective to replace rather than repair many of the older computers. NPower’s expertise and partnership with Dell made it possible for Threshold to replace 65 computers rather than the 50 that were originally in their budget. Software was obtained through a special grant from Microsoft available only to NPower clients, helping Threshold to further stretch its dollars. 

NPower recommended virtualizing Threshold’s servers to reduce the amount of hardware acquisition, improve data recovery, and reduce power costs. Thanks to careful planning, NPower staff transferred all files and settings from the old computers to the new without any interruption of service. In addition, NPower set up inexpensive netbook laptops for Threshold’s outreach team so they can take notes and update their records during client home visits.

Because Threshold hopes to convert to electronic medical records in the near future, NPower consulted with the electronic medical records software vendor before revamping the network. As a result, no additional network upgrades will be required when the conversion to electronic records occurs.

“The staff smiles more!” said Threshold Services Executive Director Craig Knoll. “A year ago I asked them what would make them like coming to work more. The number one answer was ‘computers that work.’ Now we’ve been able to give them what they need.”

NPower’s team also provided basic training to at least one staff person at each site so they can troubleshoot and solve simple problems on their own. The staff at Threshold no longer has to work late as often just to complete paperwork that was burdensome on cranky computers. They can spend more one-on-one time with clients!