Flinn Foundation grant helps Oakland Family Services improve mental health services

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Oakland Family Services will be able to improve the quality, scope, and delivery of mental health services with the assistance of a $50,000 grant from the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation.

The money will be used to contract with RDM and Associates to develop and maintain a business intelligence tool that will allow the agency to analyze clinical data and identify trends that will lead to improved quality for clients, better outcomes, and cost efficiency.

“We are so pleased to receive this grant and to be partnering again with the Flinn Foundation,” said Jaimie Clayton, President/CEO at Oakland Family Services. “This grant will allow Oakland Family Services to advance our strategic goal of increasing our use of technology and dynamic data to drive our business decisions. This funding will help increase our capacity in our behavioral health service to build dashboards and dynamic reporting that will help us both improve the quality of our services and improve our outcomes.”

Currently, employees must use three different databases to retrieve information. With the new business intelligence tool, therapists will be able to get the information they need quicker and in one place on their computer’s dashboards.

Therapists will be able to access data disclosing such information as rates of missed and cancelled appointments, diagnoses, staff productivity, completion rates and length of episode of care. The business intelligence tool also can help identify trends in barriers to treatment, such as clients missing appointments because they don’t have transportation, which could then be addressed. This type of information can help Oakland Family Services improve overall outcomes, as well. It will help staff make adjustments in therapeutic approaches and also assist with identifying areas in which clinicians need training to address trending needs of clients.

The Ethel and James Flinn Foundation is a Detroit based private foundation established in 1976 by Ethel "Peggy" Flinn and her brother, James "Jim" Flinn, Jr. Peggy passed away in 1994. Jim Flinn, Jr., who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his early 20's, led a remarkable life until his passing away in 2007 at the age of 91. The Foundation is committed to improving the scope, quality and delivery of mental health services in Michigan. Since inception, over $37 million in grants have been awarded. The Foundation's geographic focus is primarily Southeast Michigan, defined as the counties of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw.

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