PORTSMOUTH — As part of a group of five community mental health centers, Seacoast Mental Health Center recently received a $20,000 grant from the Endowment for Health to enhance training protocols and procedures related to Electronic Health Record use.



Working together since 2010 to share costs and better leverage resources to implement the EHR, which electronically stores all client records and treatment plans, the group includes Greater Nashua Mental Health Center, Genesis Behavioral Health, Monadnock Family Services, and Northern Human Services in addition to SMHC.



As a result of the grant, the collaborative group will work with a consultant to develop virtual training modules staff can access at each respective agency within an environment created by a learning performance management system.



According to Executive Director Jay Couture, the grant provides the group with technical assistance that will enable each agency to customize their training environments to best reflect their particular workflows.

“We will be using the same platform, but in ways that make the most sense for each agency,” she said. “This grant will help us create sustainable solutions that will enable us to streamline the efficiency and costs associated with how we train all staff to use the EHR.”



Steve Rowe, president of the Endowment for Health, said the project has significant potential.



“This project will allow 5 of the 10 centers to automate training associated with their electronic health record system,” he said. “The project has potential to yield a significant return on investment by increasing service capacity and reducing administrative costs.”



Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013, SMHC is a state-designated community mental health center and provides comprehensive psychiatry, counseling, case management and psychological services to residents located within the eastern half of Rockingham County. The five agencies involved are part of the N.H. Community Behavioral Health Association, composed of all 10 community mental health centers in the state.

To learn more about SMHC, visit www.smhc-nh.org and www.nhcbha.org.