tvc.dsj.org | January 16, 2018
COMMUNITY
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Innovating Social Impact Technology to Fight Poverty in Santa Clara County
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara
County is turning to technology to
create innovative products that can
solve the difficult challenges of pov-
erty in its community. The non-profit
social service agency partnered with
SeniorGrowth, a data technology
startup, to successfully co-develop
and pilot an innovative new client
service and program evaluation ap-
plication, MyWellBeing (MWB). The
application has already proven to have
a positive impact on clients’ lives.
After a successful pilot of MWB,
Catholic Charities received an Ex-
emplary Program Award from Santa
Clara County’s Behavioral Health Ser-
vices Division for achieving 100 per-
cent client engagement in its Golden
Gateway Senior Services Program.
“It is an honor to work with Catho-
lic Charities of Santa Clara County
and build innovative products like
MyWellBeing that can help solve their
most difficult challenges in their com-
munity, and make a lasting impact in
each of their client’s lives,” said Felipe
de la Fuente, CEO and Founder of
SeniorGrowth.
Serving more than 38,000 com-
munity members of all backgrounds,
Catholic Charities works with indi-
viduals and families who are strug-
gling to make ends meet, trying to
find their way out of poverty.
One in five people in Santa Clara
County live in poverty. To improve
t he lives of st r uggli ng fam ilies,
Catholic Charities needs accessible,
user-friendly tools that stretch its re-
sources, engage clients, and allow it to
easily track progress in lifting clients
out of poverty. Innovative technology
like the MWB application can help
improve the capacity of non-profit
organizations to address poverty and
measure their social impact.
The MWB application runs on
SeniorGrowth’s cloud-based care
platform. It allows any case manager
or caregiver to assess an individual’s
quality of life and self-sufficiency
level via a mobile device like a tablet
or smartphone. After an assessment
is completed, SeniorGrowth’s propri-
etary algorithm analyzes the results
and creates a well-being profile with
goals to track progress, assisting with
Start a Career in Healthcare with Catholic Charities’
Free Geriatric Home Aide Course
For more than eight years, Catholic
Charities of Santa Clara County, in
partnership with Foothill Community
College, have offered a free certificate
course in Geriatric home aide (in-home
care). This course is being offered
again three times this year, with ses-
sions starting in January, April, and
September. An orientation and Q&A
session will be held on January 29 from
10 a.m. to noon, and the first class will
begin immediately afterwards, from
noon to 2 p.m.
Taking the non-credit course is a
great way to begin one’s journey in
healthcare. The training is designed to
provide students with basic, hands-on
skills and knowledge that are needed
to start a career in health care. This
course emphasizes basic nursing
needs, safety considerations, and
nutritional needs for older adults.
Students also learn how to provide
care to ambulatory elderly patients in
their homes.
Students who have graduated from
the class have been successful in start-
ing careers in the healthcare industry,
and have found work as caregivers,
nurse assistants, or have continued
their education and graduated with a
degree in healthcare.
A former student states, “I now
have more knowledge of the common
conditions that an elderly person
might face. I can approach a client
and effectively address concerns with
greater confidence, always with empa-
thy. I now have a guideline for profes-
sionalism and scope of practice.”
Class meeting dates are January 29
to March 28 on Mondays, Tuesdays,
and Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
In total, there are 104 hours of class-
room training, no tuition or fees, and
books will be provided. No residency
documentation is required. Classes
take place at Catholic Charities’ head-
quarters, 2625 Zanker Road, San Jose,
CA, 95134.
both care planning and easily aggre-
gating outcomes data among thou-
sands of clients for program reports.
Cat holic Charit ies piloted t he
MWB service in its Golden Gateway
Program, which serves physically,
linguistically, or culturally isolated
older adults with undiagnosed de-
pression or mental health problems:
86 individuals in the program were
evaluated. Case managers worked
one-on-one with each client to create
a personal care plan. Each case man-
ager was able to monitor and track
their clients’ progress and conduct
a midterm assessment over the next
six months. The results from all 86
individuals were outstanding! Every
single individual showed improve-
ment in multiple domains, including
housing, health care access, safety,
mental health, and food security.
The program as a whole achieved
100 percent client engagement for the
first time.
“At Catholic Charities, we are in
the heart of Silicon Valley, and we are
constantly scanning technology inno-
vations to see how we can adapt them
to serve our community,” said Jackie
Copeland-Carson, Chief Operations
Officer at Cath olic Charities of Santa
Clara County. “MWB is a powerful
and transformative tool for people
of all backgrounds trying to create a
better future. Its potential impact for
all our clients and the broader com-
munity is exciting.”
The MWB application is part of
Catholic Charities’ Social Impact
Technology Initiative, designed to
innovate cutting-edge tech solutions
to our region’s most complex social
challenges.
Inspired by the success of the MWB
pilot, Catholic Charities plans to roll
out the new service to the rest of their
34 programs serving more than 38,000
clients each year. The agency is in
discussions with other regional and
national Catholic Charities agencies
to replicate the solution and amplify
the impact.
To lear n more about how t he
MyWellBeing applicat ion helped
Catholic Charities change lives for
good, please watch the video at: http://
bit.ly/CCSCC-Social-Change-Video.
You Visited Me
BECOME AN OMBUDSMAN!
Visit a nursing home or assisted living facility, listen to the
residents, investigate complaints and resolve problems.
Catholic Charities provides training and the State provides certification.
Orientation is Tuesday, January 30, 2018
10:00 AM to Noon
Training dates are listed on the Catholic Charities website:
www.catholiccharitiesscc.org
Click on the VOLUNTEER banner for Volunteer Opportunities.
To learn more about becoming an Ombudsman, contact:
Wanda Hale at 1-408-944-0567
or email [email protected]
To sign up or learn more, please call
(408) 325-5171 or visit our website at
www.catholiccharitiesscc.org.
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