How Healthy Start Coalition and Centric Consulting Created a Mobile App to Reach More Families in Need
Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County (HSC) is a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women, children and families.
HSC had a manual process for staff to input information about families during the intake process and provide subsequent referrals. They would rely on their staff to find potential women and families in need and provide all necessary intake information using a spreadsheet.
They needed a way to expand their reach to women and families in need and wanted to streamline the intake process for both staff and customers.
Enter Centric: A Mobile App Solution To Help Disadvantaged Families
Centric Consulting’s Tampa office worked with HSC to develop a mobile application that would allow people in need to come to them and request services.
As a local non-profit organization, they wanted a partner that was able to collaborate face-to-face when needed, had experience in mobile application development, and was mindful of staying within the allocated scope and budget.
The mobile app collects data from those in need and generates a spreadsheet of data that previously had to be manually populated.
Going into the project, HSC identified that the app needed to accomplish five things:
- Allow users to submit a request for services
- Display a list of services that may be a fit for the family after the intake data has been submitted
- Allow case managers to input and save notes about families
- Provide a list of possible services that can help customers that do not reside in Hillsborough County
- Allow HSC to share messages and announcements to users
We determined that the best approach would be to build two native applications (iOS and Android) that share a common code base using Xamarin. Additionally, HSC needed a website that would allow their employees to update the data used in the application in real-time.
The Results: Helping More Families and Less Manual Work
We created an algorithm that generates a list of services that may assist the customer based on the information they provide during the intake process. Women and families in need can now obtain referrals for services on their own, rather than having to rely on an HSC employee to provide those referrals to them.
Developing a mobile app that allows users to submit their own request for referrals has assisted HSC in expanding their reach to women and families in need and points those in need who do not live in Hillsborough County to other resources that may be able to assist them. The website we created to update data has allowed HSC to maintain the app without having to depend on consultants or internal IT staff, saving them time and money.
Additionally, the app streamlined the intake process and reduced the amount of handwritten paperwork for employees. Case managers no longer have to collect data in the field and then enter their handwritten data into a spreadsheet at a later time. Instead, they can use the mobile application to complete the intake process in real time. The spreadsheet is now automatically populated after a user has completed the intake process using the app.
As a non-profit, HSC employees are laser-focused on their mission of helping women and families in need. Reducing the amount of manual paperwork they have has freed up time to allow them to do just that.
What’s Next?
HSC recognized the value of a streamlined intake process and has recommended that we assist Healthy Start Coalitions in other parts of Florida to implement a similar process, if needed.