Waterloo, ON (PRWEB) May 31, 2013
Athena Software's Penelope case management software application is now being used to track child health outcomes in six schools involved in the Mana Kidz health clinics project in South Auckland, New Zealand.
The clinics offer free, comprehensive health care to primary and intermediate schoolchildren in the area.
The clinics were first launched in July 2012 in Counties Manukau with 16 schools participating. The number of participating schools increased for the current school year - there are now 34 clinics operating in the South Auckland area with another 19 expected to open in the next school term.
Penelope will be used in a pilot project at six of the school-based clinics initially.
The Mana Kidz project is led by the National Hauora Coalition on behalf of the Counties Manukau Child Health Alliance Forum and is funded by the Ministry of Health and the Counties Manukau DHB.
"Athena has really enjoyed working with the National Hauora Coalition and the Mana Kidz project is an exciting first step in this collaboration," said Greg Stanley-Horn, Athena Software's director of deployment projects.
"We believe there is a tremendous alignment of values with the Mana Kidz's Whanau Ora and school-based approach to health promotion and treatment. Not only will Penelope assist in providing a real-time client information management tool for managing the education, detection and treatment of rheumatic illnesses, but it will also serve as a powerful reporting tool to evidence the incidence of rheumatic fever and related issues in the Southern Counties. The Whanau support worker's outreach work will be assisted by Penelope's mobility and multi-service, family orientation and intuitive design."
The goal of the clinics is to improve the health of local children but also to increase access to primary care and reduce ethnic inequalities in health outcomes for preventable conditions such as rheumatic fever and skin infections.
The project also aims to reduce the rates of hospitalization for primary school-aged children for those conditions, while also increasing local health literacy and knowledge among the members of the school communities.
Penelope will be used to electronically store health assessments and monitor outcomes for each child treated as part of the project.
To achieve the goals of the project, Mana Kidz aims to increase the number of assessments and treatment in primary school children for targeted conditions (rheumatic fever, skin infections, Group A beta-haemolytic streptococcal sore throats) that can result in hospital visits if left untreated.
About Athena Software
Athena Software (http://www.athenasoftware.net) is a global case management solution provider based in Waterloo, Ont., Canada. Over the past 11 years, Athena Software has grown to partner with hundreds of organizations across the globe, with over 10,000 end users of its Penelope case management solution.
About Mana Kidz
Mana Kidz (http://www.facebook.com/ManaKidz) clinics provide comprehensive health care in a number of primary and intermediate schools in the South Auckland region of New Zealand, including rheumatic fever prevention services, assessment and treatment of skin infections and health assessments. The project is led by the National Hauora Coalition on behalf of the Counties Manukau Child Health Alliance Forum and is funded by the Ministry of Health and the Counties Manukau DHB.
