Case Study: Curating an Overall IT Experience That Works for Long-Term Care Staff & Administrators

Executive Summary

HMS Healthcare is a great long-term care provider in Texas. Their users were growing increasingly unhappy with their service experience, and it was time for a change. They needed a partner focused on high quality IT service also capable of providing strong communication and strategic business support in their service delivery. We worked with HMS to transition them as painlessly as possible from their previous provider to a fully-managed IT partnership with Pioneer Technology in the Fall of 2019.

About HMS Healthcare (Grace Care Centers)

“Grace Care Centers are a premiere rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and memory care center conveniently located in Katy, Cypress, and Tomball, Texas.” Their leadership team is highly respected and has over 50 years of experience in long-term care. Combine this with their outstanding amenities, exemplary customer service, and upscale living environment, and you can see why Grace Care Centers help families through the process of recovery and long-term care. They also provide rehabilitation for short-term recovery through their Nstep Physical Rehab and Wellness Center offering physical, occupational and speech therapies for inpatient and outpatient treatments.

Grace Care Centers have adopted the C.A.R.E. Compassionate Associates Reflect Excellence program. This program outlines an overall philosophy in the selection and training of staff. “When life changes occur, understanding and compassion plays a vital role in helping residents and families cope with the various evolutions of this life-long journey.” (Source: www.gracecarecenters.com)

Challenges

HMS manages 7 long-term care facilities (including their corporate office) and other ancillary businesses throughout Texas. They were unhappy with their IT provider for many reasons: lack of consistent communication and response, poor quality of service, and a general lack of direction and strategic recommendations – things were stale in IT, and they generally felt as though they were not getting what they were paying for and needed a company who could be fluid and take proactive actions as a partner to help them reach their future goals in an ever-changing environment.

How We Helped

To begin this project, we traveled onsite and met with key stakeholders in Katy, Texas to discuss the best methodologies and overall process for transitioning from one somewhat deeply ingrained IT provider to Pioneer Technology. We explained the overall value of working with us, and how our cloud-first approach made this transition potentially easier for them in the short-term and significantly simplified overall management of IT systems and infrastructure. As with many of our long-term care on-boardings, we worked alongside the customer to develop a structured, but realistic project plan encompassing various tasks for build-out, networks, Office 365, and more. They were an AHT customer, and we spearheaded this transition on their behalf to ensure a smooth transition between providers.

Additionally, we provided a review of their existing telecom via Pioneer Communications to reduce their cost and optimize their telecom footprint at several of their facilities. Once everything was set up, we brought all facilities onboard in three weeks with a dedicated on-site implementation team, managed from our headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Results

Based on the plan created by our team, the on-boarding of HMS Healthcare and their facilities went smoothly. Many of the users were unhappy with their IT experience before, and we took this as an opportunity to show them it was indeed possible to feel IT could be relied on throughout the workday if issues arose. The on-boarding process was highly appreciated by the leadership team and Administrators throughout Grace Care Centers. Our interactions with their previous provider, as well as our project management of implementation, allowed for limited IT disruption and resuming of the important business of resident care. 

Whether we offer a single managed service or all of them combined, we only succeed when we create awesome experiences for our customers. If this case study resonates with you and we can help, contact us today!

“We have realized significant improvements in our operations since moving to Pioneer Technology. We couldn’t be more pleased with the response time to our tickets and the customer service we have received in the last year. This has us looking forward to a long term, prosperous partnership.”

- Harold Hadley, CFO

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