Thursday, December 10, 2009

Aidmatrix Disaster / Office Continuity Plan

For two days, the Aidmatrix Dallas Office closed our office doors to test our Disaster Continuity Plan readiness. We created this plan with the help of our interns and volunteers, and wanted to make sure that our office could still function with the same efficiency if a disaster or epidemic forced us to close our office down and work from home.

With the help of our incredible volunteer Michele Pavlyak, we also piloted a business continuity and alerting technology system during this time. This system is a hosted service created for organizations and emergency operation centers specializing in responding to natural disasters, business disruptions, crisis or other emergencies. The system would send out alert emails and phone calls describing the situation to each of us, and provided us with a way to communicate our status to each other. It also would notify us with information for conference calls to discuss the current situation together.

Thanks to our high level of preparedness, I believe that our office was able to seamlessly transition to working at home with no warning, just as if a disaster were to strike. This is something that I believe that all businesses, no matter how small or large, should be prepared for.

Michael Ross
VP-Technology, Aidmatrix

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Aidmatrix Visits PediPlace in Lewisville, Texas

In 1995, PediPlace was only open a couple days a week and was completely reliant on volunteer doctors and nurses. Today, this not-for-profit pediatric clinic is open 5 days a week, and operates with 4 full-time nurse practitioners, a full operational staff and a half-time pediatrician. Larry Robbins, the Clinic Executive Director, gave us a full tour of the building and a full explanation of the history and the incredible care that is provided by PediPlace. When we first stepped through the doors and into the staff area (consisting of the kitchen, conference room, office, files, etc) I imagined the patient area was just as small and crowded. But as the tour proceeded, and we got to see all 16 exam rooms, and I realized that PediPlace staff dealt with the clutter and uncomfortable workspace so that their continuously growing number of patients could be comfortable.



PediPlace is a member of the National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC). What separates PediPlace from other similar medical clinics is that they exclusively cater to children, from birth to 18. They serve children who are uninsured or who receive Medicaid or CHIP benefits. CHIP is the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance to all uninsured children and teens who are not eligible for or enrolled in Medical Assistance.



Currently, PediPlace sees 90-100 patients each day, all on an appointment system. This year they will be seeing their most ever patients, with a projected total of 63,000. The clinic staff makes sure that newborns are seen for all their regular check-ups, and they teach parents the benefit of bringing their babies in when they are healthy, not just when they are sick.

I really enjoyed getting to spend some time visiting a place that Aidmatrix helps, and to see them in action. Each staff member we spoke with was extremely grateful to Aidmatrix for the donated and discounted medical supplies that they are able to order through our technology, FreeClinicLink™.

I cannot wait for my next visit to see how we are able to help our partners do the incredible work that they do.

Graham Caywood
Aidmatrix Program Specialist

Monday, December 7, 2009

Help Aidmatrix Win a Chance at $25,000 from Chase!

It looks like Aidmatrix may be in the running for one of the $25,000 prizes from Chase! Your vote could help us qualify for $1,000,000 which would help us impact lives around the world. Please vote!! Thank you :)