Case Studies

PolarStar Helps Holgate Center Provide Excellent Service to Retirees

The Holgate Center is an adult health care and retirement facility with a long history and a complex information technology challenge. First opened in 1883 by the Odd Fellows as an orphanage and home for the elderly, the Portland Oregon establishment has grown to offer a complete range of senior living services, including retirement living, restorative nursing and rehabilitation.

The Holgate Center’s information technology challenges are multi-dimensional. Besides the approximately 38 workstations used by Center staff, there are several outside vendors that need to access the information stored on Holgate’s servers, which are connected via a network that extends between buildings on a five-acre campus. The system needs to protect residents’ health information in order to comply with the provisions of the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), while enabling the Center to do billings to three different agencies using complicated billing software. The Center’s IT challenge also includes providing support for electronic med passes.

A med pass is the industry term for the rounds that staff members make regularly to deliver medications to center residents that need them. The importance of delivering the correct doses of medications to the right residents at exactly the right time can not be under emphasized. In the Holgate Center’s case, the medication delivery process is tracked over the internet using PCs mounted on the medication distribution carts. Therefore, maintaining reliable access to the Internet is not just a business necessity for Holgate, it can also directly affect the quality of patient care.

“If our network goes down, we can’t serve our residents effectively,” says Holgate’s Executive Director September Young. “The more electronic we become, the more dependent on our network we become.”

And reliable networking is not only a requirement for business reasons. The Holgate Center’s emphasis on enabling residents to be independent has network ramifications as well. “Our residents want the ability to access the network, too,” says September Young. “Though we provide 3 or 4 computer areas for our residents around campus, they prefer to access the net from their own residences.”

The network at Holgate has not always been problem-free. “Approximately four years ago, someone hacked into our system and we couldn’t get to our data,” said September Young. “The IT organization that we were using at the time couldn’t respond quickly enough. We don’t have an internal IT department so we relied on them to guide us and respond quickly to our needs. We just didn’t get that level of service from them.”

Young put out the call to a PolarStar technician at Polar Systems, Inc., who responded immediately to stem the security breach and propose a solution to ensure that the problem wouldn’t happen in the future. Plus, Polar’s team worked with Holgate Center personnel to develop a strategic plan for Holgate that would keep them safe and serve their growth for years to come.

As part of the plan, Holgate became a subscriber to Polar Systems’ PolarStar managed services program. For an affordable monthly fee, Polar Systems provides email, antivirus, anti-spam and backup services, plus remote network monitoring and workstation maintenance to keep Holgate’s network up to date and running smoothly.

One of the most valuable resources, included with the PolarStar program, is their Account Manager who operates as an extension of their management team.  Though he’s always on call to respond to their urgent needs, he also proactively meets with Holgate Center executives quarterly to have strategic discussions regarding their organization.  Through these discussions, he has helped the Holgate Center to develop a technology plan which will help to support future growth.  As a result of one recent meeting, a decision was made to implement a wireless solution for their facility.

“Our next big step is to go electronic with all of our charting,” says September Young. “That will increase the emphasis on quick responsiveness to IT support needs. It’s a comfort to know that a proactive expert resource like Polar Systems is watching out for the health of our system.”

Oregon Screen Impressions

Established in 1984, Oregon Screen Impressions (OSI) is the largest screen printing and embroidery company in the Pacific Northwest. In keeping with its Northwest roots, the company is dedicated to doing business in an ecological, humanitarian fashion, and the company’s success is due not only to its commitment to excellence, but to its commitment to maintaining a team of talented hardworking employees. The company’s high standards also extend to the infrastructure that supports its business.

So, when OSI became frustrated with its prior IT service firm’s lack of technical knowledge and reluctance to be pro-active in taking steps to prevent problems, even though a representative visited them weekly, they decided to make a change.

“We evaluated the option of hiring an IT employee versus contracting with a different outside firm to service our network with approximately 70 workstations and 4 servers,” said Carrie Hill, OSI’s Human Resources Manager. “The cost of an internal employee with Polar Systems’ experience would have been a lot more than contracting with Polar for the PolarStar service, and we really don’t have the need for a full-time IT person.”

“Polar’s network service is indispensable to us,” continued Hill. “Without the PolarStar service, we wouldn’t be able to keep current with our software and we would have a hard time maintaining functional backup systems. Whereas our previous firm focused on letting problems happen and then fixing them, Polar Systems people try to project potential problems and work on preventive measures.”

“Recently, we had the need to obtain a particular software program that was required by one of our customers, and Polar Systems’ engineer researched the software we needed, installed it, and made sure that it worked,” said Carrie. “Our Polar Systems engineer makes regular visits to our site to help with things like adding new workstations or upgrading our backup capability, but they’re available to help whenever we have a special need – all that we need to do is call their help desk.”

“We know that we have saved money when we compare labor dollars with the cost of the service,” added Carrie. “The value of working with a group that has the integrity of Polar Systems is huge.”

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YoCream

YoCream International, Inc., with headquarters and a dairy and manufacturing facility in Portland, OR, is a pioneer and leading producer of frozen yogurt. Founded in 1977, YoCream produces, markets, and sells frozen yogurt, ice cream, and frozen custard mixes as well as fruit and dairy smoothies and frozen beverages. The Company has 30 years experience of providing solutions to the away-from-home foodservice market.

When YoCream I S Manager Brad Gaylor was looking for an IT service provider three years ago, he turned to Polar Systems.

As the company’s lone IT specialist, Brad doesn’t have the time to get involved in the nuts and bolts of network hardware and software management. He looks to Polar Systems to provide that help.

“I didn’t have enough work for a qualified IT person,” said Brad. “And I was concerned about one individual having the diversity of experience that I needed to support our department. Polar Systems was recommended to me by another IT company as being the right size organization to meet our needs.”

YoCream signed up with Polar Systems for its PolarStar network services support program, which includes remote monitoring of YoCream’s network on a full time basis, plus problem troubleshooting, connectivity assistance, and software and hardware upgrades as necessary.

“They provide all the support that I need,” says Brad. “I rely on their technical expertise. Whenever I need an upgrade of network hardware they handle it for me.”

“For example, we do electronic invoicing with one of our customers,” continued Brad. “The service requires that we have a secure communications line. Polar Systems made a recommendation of a device that would provide this and we contracted with them to purchase and install the solution.”

“A year ago, Polar provided us with backup hardware and software when we needed to upgrade our system, and ever since, the system has been safe, secure, and reliable,” says Brad.

“The remote monitoring that Polar Systems provides with the PolarStar program has been particularly valuable,” noted Brad Gaylor. “A Polar engineer notifies me whenever they see irregularities in our system operation or issues that need attention.

“For example, we recently ran into a problem where we were reaching capacity on one of our servers,” Gaylor continued. “Polar flagged the problem and recommended a long-term solution, and they are currently helping us put that solution in place.”
The PolarStar remote monitoring service also helps YoCream by updating the service patches and cleaning up files remotely. “There is very little that they can’t do remotely,” says Brad.

When an on-site visit is required, someone drops by from Polar to install hardware or make an update as needed.

“I see Polar Systems not as a vendor but as my expert IT partner,” concluded Brad. “Polar is very good at what they do and are highly responsive to my needs.”

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McGee Financial

A family-oriented business, McGee Financial Strategies, Inc. has been serving the financial planning and wealth management needs of clients in the Northwest for over 30 years. Through a comprehensive process they design and implement financial plans based on their clients’ unique goals and values and those of their families and businesses. The firm is known for taking a holistic approach to planning, considering the needs of the entire family across multiple generations and for building strong, lasting relationships that are based on mutual respect and trust.

As with many relatively small service companies, one of the principals at McGee played the role of company “IT person” for a while, and that was satisfactory as long as the network remained relatively simple. But things changed as the company’s information needs grew. “We needed to go from a peer-to-peer network to something more sophisticated,” said Linette Dobbins, McGee Financial’s President, “and we recognized the need for professional help.”

“We asked around and talked to other people who had bad experiences with network consultants,” continued Linette. “And then a friend of one of our employees referred us to Polar Systems.”

“We didn’t consider hiring an inside IT staffer for two reasons,” said Linette. “First of all, we’re too small. There are just 17 of us. Secondly, we like outsourcing because having an outside firm manage our system keeps our information secure. We would rather not have an employee responsible for this. By outsourcing to someone we can trust, we keep our information confidential.”

Polar Systems’ support role at McGee Financial extends beyond data networking to other critical areas of the enterprise. Within the last 12 months, Polar installed a Cisco VoIP phone system to replace a conventional system that had been working since 1992. Considering the importance of a phone network to financial planners and considering that conservative financial people are often wary of technology change, the fact that the conversion went smoothly was a good thing. Polar made the new system work side-by-side the old system for a period of time in order to make sure there were no problems. “Our transition went miraculously smoothly,” concluded Linette Dobbins.

During the early years of their relationship, Polar Systems billed McGee by the hour for the service they provided, but recently McGee has signed up for Polar Systems’ PolarStar network service, whereby for a regular monthly fee, Polar handles routine maintenance of McGee’s system and automatically takes care of things such as managing backups, maintaining system security, and making software updates. As a standard part of the service, Polar Systems remotely monitors McGee’s network to insure that any potential problems are addressed before they threaten the integrity of the system.

“We know we’re getting value from the PolarStar system because the polar guys meet with us regularly to prove it to us,” said Linette. “Coming out to visit us quarterly is part of the service.”

“Trust is a critical element in our business,” reiterates Dobbins. “Because our clients demand a financial services provider that they can trust, we in turn demand that our service providers be equally trustworthy. And Polar Systems has honored our trust.”

“We have had only good experiences with Polar,” Dobbins continued. “They share our core values. As a result, I have referred them to many other people.”

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Cowlitz Family Health Center

The task of updating a network infrastructure can be daunting, and is one that is often postponed because it can be like peeling an onion – you get through the outside layer only to discover that a simple update may not be sufficient and a more complete overhaul is needed. For Cowlitz Family Health Center (CFHC) of Longview, Washington, that proved to be the case as they undertook a program to modernize their email and practice management systems. In the process, CFHC realized that their in-house IT person was not going to be fully capable of handling the upgrade alone.

The project began when clinic managers decided that they needed to revamp their 25-year-old system for keeping patient records. To get recommendations on how to proceed, they hired a national medical consulting firm with expertise in the latest electronic medical records (EMR) and practice management systems. Along with making a recommendation on what new scheduling and billing system to use, the consultants recommended that CFHC  hire an IT management firm to assist Cowlitz’ internal IT staff with the installation. Responding to Cowlitz’ RFP, Polar Systems, Inc. was selected to partner with the clinic for the upgrade.

At the time Cowlitz started working with Polar Systems, their whole network (all software and hardware) was contained at the clinic’s Longview, Washington headquarters. The Longview network consisted of a patchwork of two mid-sized servers, with five PC workstations that also worked as servers, and a virtual network. The Longview staff, as well as personnel at the clinic’s two remote worksites (there were approximately 125 users in total, spread between the clinic’s three locations) needed to go through a very cumbersome process to access records at the main site which included logging into multiple software applications separately. In addition, the clinic’s email software was archaic and didn’t offer the functionality of contemporary email systems.

The first step for Polar Systems was to evaluate the existing system framework and assess the client’s needs. As part of the company’s PolarStar service, Polar provided a team of ‘CIO-level’ analysts with the expertise in system design and implementation that enabled them to quickly calculate that CFHC’s  current infrastructure would not support what they wanted to do. A complete rebuild of the clinic’s IT system, from top to bottom, was launched.

The rebuild was broken into three phases, and during the process Polar managed and maintained Cowlitz’s existing network so as not to disrupt on-going daily work activity. “During this process our team was onsite at CFHC’s  two or three full days per week,” says Ken Colton, Polar Systems’ Director of Operations. “In phase one, we moved their current applications without change to a more robust infrastructure. In phase two we converted CFHC  outdated email system to Microsoft Exchange, and in phase three implemented a single log-in for all applications based on thin client computing. This simplified and streamlined how the remote sites connected to the main site.”

Cowlitz’ in-house IT person had begun implementing a server virtualization environment, but had made some incorrect implementation decisions. Based on Polar’s core competency in this area, they decided to unravel what had been done and re-implement the virtualization using VMWare, a more standard and robust architecture.  The new system uses fewer servers than the previous one, but uses them much more efficiently. “Virtualization was key to the successful restructure of Cowlitz’ network,” says Ken Colton. “It enabled Cowlitz to cut server and space costs and energy usage, and it will allow them to grow and expand their data-driven business with relative ease.”

The entire process took approximately five months, and was worth the time and financial investment. Cowlitz’ Finance Director Norm Kraft says, “Before the upgrade our IT person had to run all reports himself using our 25 year old practice management system. Now anybody that has authority can run a report, and they’re produced in real-time. We can view the information on the screen, create a PDF, or create an Excel spreadsheet. This upgrade has made our business more efficient.”

Polar Systems has recently been able to change their focus at CFHC  from improving the clinic’s network to maintaining the network and taking care of employee needs that arise. This is all part of the PolarStar network management service, which includes an on-call help desk, with the ability to perform remote diagnostics and servicing of clients’ networks whenever necessary. To ensure that face-to-face contact is maintained, and that Polar is kept up to date on Cowlitz’ IT needs, Polar Systems engineers make on-site visits to CFHC  at least once or twice per month.

“Beyond solving the clinic’s system reliability issues and bringing them into the 21st century and to the leading edge of technology, our continuing involvement as part of the PolarStar service ensures that CFHC’s  IT system will continue to thrive,” says Ken Colton.

Norm Kraft adds, “One significant advantage to outsourcing this work is having a team that responds to the projects that we have prioritized. No task is too vast or gets pushed to the back burner. This work has created a lot of stability and reliability within our system. The investment we made, and continue to make with Polar is money well spent. We’re confident that the support that Polar provides will serve us well into the future.”

Cowlitz Family Health Center is a community health center that provides medical, family planning, dental, WIC (women’s and infant nutrition program) and First Steps (case management for pregnant women). For more information about CFHC visit their website at www.cowlitzfamilyhealth.org.

Polar Systems Helps the Oregon Medical Association Plan for the Future

If there’s one thing that’s in short supply at a non-profit organization that serves 7,500 busy physicians and their staffs, it’s time; especially time for handling computer network problems and worrying about how future IT needs will be met.

For years, the Oregon Medical Association (OMA) could get by with a simple computer network. Most of the IT support was handled by the organization’s internal staff. Then things got busier for the organization, which serves as a resource to Oregon’s physicians and the medical industry, providing services such as educational workshops, assisting with government regulation compliance, plus serving as an industry advocate with state and federal government. To offload their network and server support tasks, OMA needed to hire an outside IT firm.

Pacific Intermedia, an enterprise software integrator based in Portland, has been helping OMA with applying CRM software to the task of managing OMA’s relationships with its member physicians. They have also been consulting with OMA on the use of Microsoft SharePoint to manage document content and database integration with event registration software. Well-aware of the growing needs of the health care industry for secure and reliable client interaction management, Pacific Intermedia suggested that OMA get in touch with Polar Systems, an IT firm with a solid reputation in providing companies with proactive solutions.

“OMA was looking for a firm with which we could build a long-term relationship,” says Stephanie Munoz, OMA’s director of operations. “Polar Systems came in and looked at our system, listened to what we wanted to do, and quickly got a picture of what could be changed to better meet our needs.”

First thing on the list was a new server. Polar brought one in, set it up and worked out a plan for decommissioning the old server. They then presented a list of further recommendations outlining urgent to long-term needs. In all, the OMA office includes 23 personnel workstations and three servers (a domain controller, a CRM server and a SharePoint server).

“So far, our experience with Polar Systems has been positive,” says Stephanie. “We’re confident that they will respond to emergencies quickly. Sometimes, due to their remote workstation and server monitoring, they’ve even called our attention to problems before we’ve had a chance to identify them.”

Polar Systems meets with OMA staff on a quarterly basis to review progress and discuss future plans. “We’re planning to work with Polar to develop a technology roadmap for 2010 and beyond that will help us with budgeting and goal setting,” concludes Stephanie. “In some ways, we hope it’ll be like having a Chief Technology Officer right on staff.”

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Case Studies:

• Case Studies
  • Holgate Center
  • Oregon Screen Impressions
  • YoCream Int'l
  • McGee Financial
  • Cowlitz Family Health Center
  • Oregon Medical Association
• Testimonials