Nurses for Newborns Foundation - Using 4th Dimension to Promote Child Healthcare

Since 1991, Nurses for Newborns Foundation (NFNF) has been helping at-risk children and their families with a variety of healthcare and educational services. Originally founded to assist poverty-stricken women and children in the St. Louis area, NFNF has grown into a thriving organization with additional offices in Tennessee and Washington, DC. According to Robin Kinney, co-founder of Nurses for Newborns, "Nurses for Newborns Foundation’s mission is to provide a safety net for families most at-risk to help prevent infant mortality, child abuse and neglect through in-home nursing visits providing healthcare, education and positive parenting skills. We have programs that serve teen mothers, mothers who are mentally or physically challenged, infants who are sick, and general population families that are in need. In addition to providing medical services, our nurses serve as case managers for each family. They assist families in getting connected with any additional medical, social or government services they may need. We maintain a donation bank with clothes, toys, diapers, blankets, car seats, baby beds and formula for our families that are in need."

4th Dimension Fits the Growing Needs of Not-for-Profit Organizations

In the beginning, the offices of NFNF consisted of two rooms and only two computers. The staff was serving the needs of fewer than thirty clients, but knew that the number of children and families needing help would soon be growing exponentially. NFNF began with a standalone version of 4th Dimension as a solution. However, as time went on and the organization’s needs grew, the foundation moved to 4D Server, which provided a truly scalable solution. "We chose 4th Dimension because the learning curve wasn’t high and we knew we had room to grow as our needs changed," notes Kinney. "In addition, 4th Dimension was the affordable choice for us, particularly as a not-for-profit organization that is on a tight budget."

By 1999, 4th Dimension was helping NFNF serve approximately 900 clients a year and provide over 5,000 home visits to impoverished families. Through the 4D Partner Program, NFNF was able to find a developer to help them evolve the original application into a truly scalable, customized solution, without abandoning any initial investments. Brad Weber, president of FlatTop Technology, played an essential role in creating a solution that met the specific needs of the organization, one that ultimately gives the foundation’s users the independence they need to run the program as efficiently as possible. "One of the wonderful things about 4th Dimension is that it is easy enough for a non-programmer to use, yet powerful enough for experienced developers to create truly top-of-the-line, cutting-edge programs," notes Kinney.

4th Dimension enabled NFNF staff to access essential, updated information without any increase in expenses. As a not-for-profit organization, NFNF needed a truly affordable solution that would satisfy the needs brought forth with the dramatic increase in client number. Rather than hire additional employees for data entry, access to a centralized database was created for all existing nurses so that they could easily obtain all updated information. "Instead of hiring more people for the office, which would have added to our overhead, we went to our full-time nurses using laptops and had them enter their own documentation, transferring it into the office every evening," said Kinney. "This changed our operations completely. Our staff now has up-to-date information on clients without extra overhead, allowing us to respond to doctors and social workers in an expedient and informed manner."

Bringing Staff and Management Together with Integrated Web Serving

The integrated Web capabilities of 4th Dimension have greatly improved the overall efficiency of the foundation as well. "Now management, board members, and nurses who have not yet been equipped with their own laptops have access to critical information via the Web," notes Kinney. "This means that they can access the employee roster, look up cases, and view important performance summary reports from any Web browser. In addition, management and members of the board can view reports from any of the three regional offices through the same simple interface."

Data Synchronization with 4D Open

4D Open, a plug-in that easily brings 4D-to-4D connectivity to any solution, allows NFNF application to synchronize data between nurses working remotely and any of the central offices. This ability provides the foundation with a number of significant benefits. "Tremendous cost savings have resulted from the addition of 4D Open to our solution," said Kinney. "The data is captured by nurses, the experts in the field, while the information is still fresh in their minds. Any costly data errors, which may have been caused by another employee re-entering information from paper forms, have been reduced." Moreover, the speed with which updated information can be obtained by staff and management is extremely beneficial. "An entire day’s information can be transferred between the office and the remote nurses in seconds, even over a dial-up connection," continues Kinney. "And management always has access to the latest information when evaluating the performance of the organization."

Keeping Data Clean with 4D Internet Commands

With 4D Internet Commands, maintaining accurate and up-to-date information is a snap for NFNF. The suite of commands provided in 4D Internet Commands enable 4th Dimension solutions to incorporate processes such as automatic e-mail delivery from a database and efficient file transfers. At NFNF, data is kept "clean" automatically, and when the accuracy of any information is questionable, e-mail alerts are sent to the right individuals to notify them. "On a periodic basis, the data is validated," said Kinney. "When necessary, 4D Internet Commands automatically deliver e-mail messages to those responsible for the data entry. These commands are also useful to send reminder messages to nurses about their licenses and certifications, which may be expiring soon." Furthermore, 4D Internet Commands allows for the automatic download of the latest version of the application to remote nurses’ laptops, making file transfers and updating very simple processes for users.

4th Dimension – More Power to the User

Another important cost-saving benefit of 4th Dimension is its ability to bring more power and independence to users. With the custom solution provided by FlatTop Technology as well as 4th Dimension’s ease of use, NFNF’s users don’t need to rely on external expertise to take advantage of the wealth of capabilities offered. This independence translates into considerable savings as well, since users don’t have to hire or wait for a developer help to create certain features. "Our system is completely customizable, thus management and staff can edit choices for fields, restrict access to tables, and more, within a matter of minutes and without the help of a developer," remarks Kinney.

For Kinney, helping children in need is that much easier with the capabilities brought forth by NFNF’s customized 4th Dimension solution. The entire staff and management of the organization remain confident that the healthcare and educational needs of families will continue to be met in efficient and cost-effective ways. "Our 4th Dimension database is the backbone of our organization, allowing us to grow from a home-based foundation to a national organization that serves thousands of indigent infants every year," said Kinney. "We do make a difference, and 4th Dimension has helped us to make that difference."

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