Veteran Services Virtual Waiting Room

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

On April 1, 2013 the Anoka County Veteran Services Office began utilizing a new, automated check-in system. After the recent growth in the number of office visits, it became a priority for us to innovate and streamline the check-in process. In searching for a program that would fit the needs of our office, we learned that purchasing the software and equipment would cost between $10,000 and $20,000. Instead we turned to the Anoka County IT department who was able to create a specialized program tailored to the needs of our office at the cost of 40 hours of staff time and $500 for the touch screen monitor. The new program sends a notification to the computers of all five of our County Veteran Service Officers (CVSO’s) when a veteran has checked in and is waiting to be seen, displaying what services they seek and how long they have been waiting. It also allows Veterans to select which CVSO they prefer to see. If any of our CVSO’s are out of the office, we are able to remove their name from the screen and the Veteran will be able to choose to see someone else. The program also creates up-to-the-minute, daily and monthly reports indicating how many veterans have visited our office, their age, reason for visit, average wait time and more. These reports help to determine where our resources are best used and where changes can be made in order for us to better serve our Veterans. The new virtual waiting room has improved the efficiency of our office and help to ensure that our nation’s heroes are getting the service they deserve, while doing so in a fiscally responsible manner.