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IT

Information, Communication and Technology

 

Effective communication is a vital part of CareSouth’s everyday work practice. Our Information Technology team are constantly improving the ways in which staff communicate, capture and share information, not only with each other but with the clients we support.

Our IT experts are using more sophisticated technology such as virtual private network (VPN) links to help staff and clients stay connected across our wide geographic footprint. CareSouth VPNs link our offices in Berkeley, Nowra, Goulburn, Griffith and Deakin in the ACT. A Deniliquin site is expected to be up and running next year when the NBN is installed. CareSouth’s VPN allows employees to securely connect to geographically diverse locations across the organisation, creating one cohesive network. Staff can also access servers and the intranet remotely.

The IT team maintains 168 computers across all of our CareSouth offices and these are supported by 22 core servers that manage various aspects of our network such as user logons, email, data collection, printing services and remote access.

CareSouth’s IT department manages over 600 user accounts and mailboxes on the organisation’s network and more than 2TB of data – the equivalent of 447,000 files – is stored on our main server.

Our Out-of-Home Care team use 71% of the data storage space on our shared network, followed by Disability Services (13%) and Brighter Futures (9.5%). Each month our IT team respond to 1000 requests for help from staff across the organisation.

CareSouth’s Intranet was launched in June to provide a quick link to information and resources for staff to support their clients more efficiently. The Intranet streamlines processes such as booking pool cars for home visits and transport, submitting IT Help Desk requests, accessing a CareSouth Events Calendar, and viewing internal social media posts, positive news stories and blogs about the business.

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Technology Connecting Families

 

CareSouth Information Technology manager Danny Bosevski and his team are adept at ensuring staff have the technological tools they need to do their job. On average they respond to more than 250 requests each week to fix and maintain the essential service of staff communication.

But it was the “human connection” between a toddler and her father, facilitated by Danny and his IT team, which has left a lasting impression.

Danny was asked by Brighter Futures caseworker Cristina Gueudinot to use video-conferencing technology to connect the young child and her extended family with her father, who is currently in jail.

The father had not seen his daughter since she was a newborn and the Department of Family and Community Services needed to bring the family together to discuss future plans for the toddler and her sibling. The use of video-conferencing technology meant the child and her family did not have to visit her father in jail and were instead in a safe, secure environment at CareSouth’s Berkeley office.

“The most positive thing to come out of this was that it (the video-conference) gave the family a chance to begin the process of determining the best way to move forward for the children,” said Cristina.

“The video-conference minimised any potential trauma the child may have experienced after seeing her father after such a long time.”

Cristina said the family would not have had an opportunity to have a discussion about future plans for the children where they felt safe and supported, if not for the state-of-the-art set-up in Berkeley’s boardroom.

“From a technical point of view we were able to provide the infrastructure and IT support,” said Danny. “But from a therapeutic point of view we provided a secure environment for a family to connect. CareSouth is all about connecting families and in this case IT were able to make a human connection rather than fixing a technological connection.”

Danny said the request from the Brighter Futures caseworker was “definitely outside the box” and it is this kind of bold, innovative thinking which underpins all the work carried out by CareSouth’s dedicated staff. The IT team spent several hours working with FACS and the jail to ensure the technological set-up was sound.

“The clarity and sound of the connection itself was brilliant,” said Danny. “But on the day it was much more than just a regular video call. There was so much value in this for the family. It was a really positive experience for everyone involved. To be a part of that, from an IT point of view, was a real eye-opener. We realised IT can provide so many more additional services to our staff and our clients outside of the ones we offer day-to-day.”

Danny said IT was working with staff to identify any other clients who would benefit from video-conferencing and other technology so CareSouth continued to keep families connected.