LifeNet News
Efficiency
By David Klingler, Past Chair, Board of Directors
The recent spikes in fuel prices have caused a lot of us to think more seriously about efficiency. Although we don't always think about it, efficiency is ultimately about stewardship. It's about getting the most from available resources. It's about coping intelligently with scarcity while getting the job done well.
LifeNet has been doing that for years. The challenge of rebuilding the lives of our neighbors beset with homelessness and mental illness or chemical dependency is unbelievably daunting. Our community needs for mental health services for the indigent are staggering. Available resources are always limited and fraught with uncertainty. There are days when coping with $4/gallon gasoline seems like a walk in the park compared to fulfilling Lifenet's bold mission with what we've got to work with.
Non-profit agencies are morally obligated to be good stewards of their resources. It's been about two years now since LifeNet redoubled its commitment to achieve the highest level of stewardship with its resources. We recognized that we had to find ways to deliver services to our clients with greater efficiency than ever before. We're proud that we've achieved some notable success in these efforts, especially in the delivery of clinical services.
To squeeze the most out, LifeNet has significantly streamlined its clinic. Now, Lifenet delivers services to clients, professionally and compassionately, with greater cost-effectiveness than ever before.
LifeNet has reduced clinicians's administrative chores so they can focus almost exclusively on client care. LifeNet has reduced clinic management in favor of maximizing client-directed systems that get new clinicians up to full caseloads more quickly and confidently than ever before. Many clinical services are even delivered to clients directly, sparing them a trip to the clinic and providing greater assurance that they receive the services that they need.
Furthering efficiency, LifeNet's staff has become more stable than ever before with staff turnover rates far lower than just two years ago.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I'd like to commend our fine staff for continually rising to the challenge and breadth of our important mission: rebuilding the lives of some our most beleaguered neighbors.
Getting a lot out of a little can be quite difficult, but at LifeNet we're good at it and always striving to improve.
July 2008
