Page 8 - Open Sky Annual Report 2020

Coping, Responding and Reimagining
Turning to Telehealth
The COVID-19 pandemic presented Open Sky Community Services with a new challenge: how
to make sure that the individuals we serve could continue to connect with their medical and
behavioral health providers and other supports
when stay-at-home orders went into effect. It
was critical that they maintained contact with their physicians, their clinicians, outreach counselors, peer support leaders and other members of their care teams. But how?
Open Sky had already been working on a plan to implement telehealth. But with individuals now sheltering at home or
in residential programs, those plans would need to be accelerated. Open Sky’s IT Department went into high gear, beginning with an assessment of the technology needs of all of the agency’s programs. Depending on the location, this might have meant enhancing internet access, delivering and installing laptops or Chromebooks, cameras, microphones, or even finding a private place in the home for an appointment to take place.
The project was complicated by the fact that members of the IT team were,
themselves, largely working from home, as were many Open Sky staff. All of these
employees needed to connect with their coworkers and individuals served. Once again, IT stepped up, providing access and training on
virtual platforms such as Skype, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Soon, those working remotely were able to utilize this technology to stay in touch with colleagues and the individuals and families they support. Meetings were being scheduled and documents shared. Needless to say, this shift in service delivery had financial implications and the organization was fortunate to receive generous grants from the Worcester Together Fund and eHana to help defray the cost.
What began as a necessity in the face of a global pandemic, became an opportunity for Open Sky to explore better ways to meet the needs of people served. In fact, the organization recently received a grant from the Health Foundation of
Central Massachusetts’ Activation Fund to implement telepsychiatry for individuals living in our residential programs funded by the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services. With this Activation Fund grant, we not only will be purchasing and installing equipment for telehealth, but also measuring outcomes to ensure that clinical services that are delivered remotely are just as effective as in-person sessions. In some ways, telehealth services may even improve delivery of care by increasing efficiency and access. We’re excited to see the results of this new initiative.
Ted Dobbert,
Clinican, Worcester ACCS Team
What began as a necessity in the face of a global pandemic, became an opportunity for Open Sky to explore better ways to meet the needs of people served.
7 Open Sky Community Services Annual Report 2020