Samantha Reid, a youth and family specialist at Vista Maria, discusses a case with therapist Kim Craighead outside the office.
Lawrence Technological University (LTU) has donated 50 Fujitsu tablet PCs to Vista Maria of Dearborn Heights, a non-profit providing treatment programs and other services to victimized girls and young women in Southeast Michigan.
The used laptops are from the LTU Zone program that provides all undergraduate students with personal computers loaded with the software needed for their courses. This year students are getting new computers to keep pace with the latest educational resources utilized at LTU. The older models that have been replaced remain highly functional for most applications.
The computers donated by LTU are used by Vista Maria intake workers, therapists, family specialists, youth coaches, foster care specialists, unit managers, and the executive team.
“Our employees are benefiting from the powerful processing and multitasking capabilities of these mobile devices,” said Angela Aufdemberge, president and CEO of Vista Maria.
Vista Maria is in the process of implementing a paperless system, and the 50 computers will help reduce paper printouts of client reports and case notes. Departments share data on a realtime basis, and caseworkers can input information and access records from the field.
“Mobile computing allows us to work smarter and not harder, thus improving service to our clients and the community at large,” Aufdemberge said. “Best of all, the tablets and laptops enable us to continue to develop improved workflows and therapist and caseworker interactions with clients.”
Samantha Reid, a youth and family specialist for Vista Mara, finds her tablet computer very helpful when she visits graduates of Vista Maria’s residential program who have returned to the community. “It’s great to be able to utilize the tablet/laptop with those youths and help them find community resources, recreational activities, and apply for jobs,” Reid said.
Even though they have been replaced by newer models, the Fujitsu tablets are powerful personal computers that can support a robust computing system, according to Tim Chavis, executive director of Information Technology Service Delivery at Lawrence Tech.
“We are pleased that these computers will play an important role at a non-profit agency that is providing very importance services to our community,” Chavis said. “We wanted to help out because we realize that non-profit agencies have limited financial resources and many needs to fill.”
Since 1883 in metro Detroit, Vista Maria, www.vistamaria.org, has provided treatment, education and resources necessary for full recovery of girls suffering abuse, neglect and trauma. Many other girls and boys from the community benefit on a daily basis from the services of Vista Maria, including its Village of Hope Academies charter schools, Journey to Success Program, Foster Care programs and the Shepherd Hall Transitional Living Program.
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for return on undergraduate tuition investment, and highest in the Detroit metropolitan area. Lawrence Tech is also listed in the top tier of Midwestern universities by U.S. News and World Report and the Princeton Review. Students benefit from small class sizes and experienced faculty who provide a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus include over 60 student clubs and organizations and a growing roster of NAIA varsity sports.