Lucas County Board Of DD Needed Reliable Partner in IT

Everyday, the Lucas County Board of DD staff does important work to help enrich the lives of those they serve. To do so, they need responsive and resilient IT systems. 

 

"We have to be able to look up somebody's phone number, and if we don't have access to our database, that could mean someone's health and safety are at risk," says Michele Myerholtz, Assistant Superinten­dent, Lucas County Board of DD. 

Given the nature of their work, the Lucas County Board of DD's 300+ staff members need regular access to their robust database. In order to resolve issues, facilitate proper care and more for individuals with developmental disabilities in Lucas County, it's critical for these workers to be able to call up information at a moment's notice. 

"It's incredibly important to have that reliability, because, if we don't have access to something, that could mean that the health and safety of a person we serve could be in jeopardy," says Michele. "We may need to access information at the snap of a finger in order to handle a crisis that's going on." 

Unfortunately, prior to partnering with [VC3], the board's systems were extremely out of date. Their infrastructure was a decade and half old, and couldn't handle the occasional bout of high volume traffic. Their internal IT staff at the time had done what they could to maintain these aging servers, but none of their solutions lasted very long. 

"We had three IT folks who handle our servers, our network, everything," says Michele. "We're operating mainly on 15-year-old servers, there was a lot of patchwork and 'band-aiding' things." 

That's why they chose to partner with [VC3]. The staff at the Lucas County Board of DD recognized we offered robust IT services, sup­port, and private cloud solutions, as well as extensive experience with County Boards of DD like theirs. By partnering with us, the board gained expert IT support that would help them achieve a more reliable and secure IT environment not only in a quick amount of time, but help them plan and prepare for their long term future needs. 

IT resources have never been as important as they are now as a majority of professionals work from home. In order for organizations like the Lucas County Board of DD to stay connected and productive while working remotely, they need the right technologies and processes in place. 

"I cannot imagine what it would have been like for us to get through the pandemic without [VC3]," says Michele. "If we didn't have [VC3], we would have been hurting." 

Due to how quickly the pandemic developed, many organizations were unable to prepare for the shift to a remote work setting. Doing so would have required careful planning, methodical execution of new processes, and expert implementation of new technologies. Fortunately for the Lucas County Board of DD, they were able to rely on our team for expert assistance. 

"When the pandemic hit, and we all had to go mobile, [VC3] was absolutely instrumental in allowing us to do that efficiently," says Michele. "Our staff were still able to do their jobs." 

Our team ensured that everyone working remotely for the Lucas County Board of DD had what they needed to do so productively, securely, and reliably. 

Given the nature of the data that the Lucas County Board of DD deals with, cybersecurity and HIPAA com­pliance are top priorities. Their databases contain sensitive medical data on thousands of private citizens, making them a common target for cybercriminals. 

We have helped the Lucas County Board of DD vastly improve their cybersecurity defenses, making necessary updates to both their technologies and their processes to ensure the County Board's data is secure, and their organization as a whole is com­pliant. 

''Through [VC3], we have the latest and greatest network and systems and protection from malicious viruses," says Michele. "It is very comforting to know that they are on top of it, so we don't have to worry about it." 

This is a primary indicator of our value for the board - the fact they don't have to worry about IT anymore. The Lucas County Board of DD's staff can focus on their work, and trust we are taking care of them. 

"We can just do what we do best, which is serve people with disabilities, and they can do what they do best, which is keep our data safe," says Michelle

"Everybody has very good feedback and very good things to say about [VC3]'s customer service," says Michele. 

Our team is proud to play a small part in the board's efforts to enrich the lives of Lucas County residents with developmental disabilities. By making sure their IT is functional and cost-effective, our team helps the board do what they do every day. 

That's what Michele and the Lucas County Board of DD team want from their IT. They want to be confi­dent it will work as expected, day in and day out. It needs to be responsive and secure.