"Our 21st-century expansions continue to roll forward. In 2000, we opened the doors to our state-of-the-art headquarters in Roanoke. In 2003, we hired our first on-site OB/GYN Medical Director and began providing gynecological surgeries (tuba) ligations, hysterectomies, etc.) for the first time. In 2004, we opened the Dr. Herbert C. Jones Reproductive Health and Education Center in Charlottesville and hired a second on-site OB/GYN physician. This year we are integrating all our sites through the purchase of new hardware and software for all departments.

"As Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge has become more sophisticated, our computer technologies have to keep pace," says Linda Farano, Director of Administration, who has helped to lead this latest expansion. "These improvements will make every department more efficient and more effective."

In June, we completed our computer hardware purchases and installations for Roanoke, Lynchburg, Charlottesville and the New River Valley. This includes new Pentium computers and servers as well as office software upgrades. In July, we installed the latest version of our donor database software that allows Development Department staff to share data and access the same database from all our different centers.

In September, we adopted a web-based e-mail computer system that is shared with other Planned Parenthood affiliates and our National Office. In October, we upgraded our Finance Department database program to a sophisticated Windows-based system that allows us to process transactions more quickly and analyze important data and financial trends more efficiently.

The most elaborate software expansion in our history will come this winter as we install new medical database software and upgrade our high-speed data transmission lines. "It's the advances in the Medical Department that are most exciting," says Michelle Sebestin, Director of Patient Services. "Right now each of our sites has its own medical database. We have no way to electronically share information between Lynchburg and Roanoke, or Charlottesville and the New River Valley." Medical staff from all four sites evaluated different software packages. They were unanimous in selecting the new software program.

The new software includes on-line scheduling, electronic billing and electronic record keeping that will be shared among all sites. "We're excited about learning the new software," says Michelle. "These innovations will allow us to better serve our patients for many years to come." (Blue Ridge Briefings, Winter 2005)