Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

County Health Department Delivers Valuable Resources to Citizens with Web Solution

To provide citizens with access to health services information, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health developed an online Community Resource Guide using Microsoft® solutions. The site uses information provided by the 211 InfoLine and informs the public on available services related to health, mental health, basic needs, housing, and more. This online tool allows mental health providers to search for and provide information to people regarding services in addition to mental health. 

 

Business Needs

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health provides a range of services to the public, including outpatient care, day treatment, inpatient care, community outreach, crisis residential, forensic, school-based services, supportive housing, transitional housing, and more. Mental health providers needed an effective online resource to locate information on health-related services to assist citizens with their needs.

Solution

Using the Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 development system and Microsoft SQL Server® 2008 data management system, along with the Microsoft Virtual Earth™ online mapping platform and Silverlight™ browser plug-in, the department created the 211 Web site and database (Figure 1). The database provides a comprehensive listing of nearly all the services available to the public in Los Angeles County. The database not only stores information on providers but also provides detailed taxonomy on the different types of services, hours of operation, disability access to the physical location, specific services available at the site, and contact information. Therefore, the database serves as an effective tool to search for available health resources in the county.

Figure 1. The Community Resource Guide provides valuable healthcare information.

 

Mental health providers now have a ‘one-stop’ community resource guide to locate information on health-related services and assist consumers with their needs. Vandana Joshi Program Head for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

Even though the development platform was somewhat new to developers, the team was able to learn and apply an iterative approach to design the solution within two weeks by exploring extensive tutorials, community-driven articles, and the interactive software development kit (SDK).
 
Spatial capabilities within SQL Server 2008 made it easy for the department to store Los Angeles County’s Supervisorial District Boundary and Service Plan Area Boundary data. And Visual Studio 2008, along with AJAX, helped in delivering a better experience to end users.

Given that the county covers an area of more than 4,000 square miles, proximity of services is a critical factor for citizens who need to access these services. The use of a geographic information system (GIS) search engine to locate services in the 211 database gives users the ability to overcome this critical factor. The interactive SDK and sample solutions in Virtual Earth made it simple for developers to create GIS applications.

 

Benefits

For people with mental health issues, the recovery process depends on their ability to connect with and receive valuable services, such as education, legal, and housing services. The Community Resource Guide provides necessary information to the department and helps to enhance the recovery process of individuals who take advantage of these services.

Specific benefits include:

• Minimal cost in maintaining the solution
• Increased user productivity and efficiency
• Future base for additional countywide services and GIS capabilities
• Better data visualization for internal staff and the public using Virtual Earth
• Flexibility and improved system management with built-in efficiencies for greater control