The Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center in Butler recently received a grant to implement an electronic medical record system. Butler Eagle File Photo

The Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center announced it has received a capacity building grant from the Staunton Farm Foundation for $24,370 to implement an electronic medical record system.

From this new system, the center will be able to serve about 30% more clients by streamlining electronic processing of charts and billing to help position themselves for future growth.

“We will probably be able to reach an additional 200 people with the system because it's going to enable our staff to have a little more time to take more capacity on their case loads,” executive director Joe Mahoney said.

Mahoney said they had an existing EMR system, but it didn’t have the functionality the center needed. “

“So we are excited to have a system that can meet the needs of our programming,” he said.

According to Mahoney, the center has received the money and is in the final stages of transitioning to the system.

“Some of our staff are in training right now,” Mahoney said. “We are expecting the new system to go live after Labor Day.”

The new EMR system also will make the admissions processes easier and facilitate the movement of clients between levels of care, as well as offer electronic signing pads for the first time, Mahoney said.

“Our clients will be able to sign right there — we can capture their signatures that way and the therapists’ signatures that way as well,” he added.

The Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center has expanded its services over the past two years. It added virtual clinical sessions for clients and entered into a contractual agreement to provide education and clinical services to inmates at Butler County Prison. It also created its Center of Excellence for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment, which will benefit from the new EMR system.

“We may have a client at our inpatient facility who needs to be transferred to our outpatient center,” Mahoney said. “We may have a client leave treatment before they're done and decide a few months later to come back. Everyone’s recovery ... is an individualized journey. This technology provided by Staunton Farm will support each individual’s unique path.”

Gaiser also continues to increase community-based support for Medication Assisted Treatment services while introducing educational outreach programs throughout Butler County and the other nine counties it serves.

With the goal of improving the lives of people who live with mental illness and/or substance abuse disorder, the Staunton Foundation aims to enhance behavioral health treatment, support and recovery through grant making to nonprofit organizations.

“Staunton Farm has a beautiful mission to improve the lives of people who live with mental illness and/or substance use disorders and our missions are aligned,” Mahoney said.