Poster
Client Context
Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation (GLLF) is a non-profit organization that provides access to vision healthcare services. They serve uninsured and low-income Georgians without traditional access to care. GLLF provides services via (i) a brick-and-mortar facility located in Chamblee, Georgia and (ii) mobile clinics held at partner facilities around the state. Patients must apply and are placed on a waitlist once approved. Once there are enough patients and a volunteer doctor in an area, GLLF schedules a clinic and the patients are served.
Project Objective
GLLF has seen a downturn in the number of patients served over the past 5 years. There is a large queue of patients on the waitlist, and they experience long wait times. The identified causes include disjoint workstreams of the individuals who manage patients and volunteer doctors, scattered data sources, and lack of historical data. Team 15 identified 3 main opportunities: facilitating and centralizing communication, improving data management and storage, and driving decision making through data. Each of these opportunities allows GLLF to be more proactive with their service delivery.
Design Strategy
When developing our solution for GLLF, we took a systems approach in order to solve the challenges affecting workstream collaboration. We knew that our solution had to be accessible by stakeholders in each of the three workstreams, and that each stakeholder should be able to know what the others are seeing and doing in the system. Our solution is a tool that allows for more insights into all aspects of GLLF's business. When developing the tool, we had two main options: building out the tool as a python-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) or developing a macro-enabled Microsoft Excel workbook. During our interim presentation, we showed our client mock-ups of both options, which allowed us to gain more insight into their needs. Ultimately, we chose to make a macro-enabled Excel workbook, as this is a program that the staff at GLLF are already aware of and have used. Using OneDrive would also allow for seamless integration of changes made by different members of the staff in a centralized, cloud-based location.
Deliverables
Over the past five years, there has been an observable downward trend in patients served, with GLLF seeing 86 percent fewer patients in FY 2021 than in FY 2017. While some of this downward trend can be attributed to the ongoing pandemic, the decline can be seen even prior to the onset. The main challenges that GLLF faces are caused by the lack of communication between the different workstreams, leading to a backlog of patients waiting for service. With our deliverable, the Lion Leads macro-enabled Microsoft Excel workbook, stakeholders in different workstreams are able to have insight into the ongoings of different workstreams. Furthermore, the tool uses a priority ranking system to determine the best next course of action for any particular location that GLLF services.
Project Information
Student Team
Grant Cloud, Carl Marwitz, Cecilia McManus, Kennedy Rand, Rohan Rege, Christie Shanahan, Kristen Szalkowski, Benjamin Trimpe
Faculty Advisor
Faculty Evaluator
