Regarding the SVRS:  First of all, I found a letter the other day I had written to Sue Ann Gilroy dated 1999, voicing my concern about a statewide system and what a horrible concept it was. Fast forward 6 years later and here is what I have to say now…………….

The entire process has been great. The involvement of so many diverse folks working so hard to achieve a common goal has been awesome.  The Virchow Krause team is always open to hearing our comments, and continues to be a reliable source of confidence. Pat Palecek and Bob DeHaven, being so tolerant during UAT, never lost their cool and documented every single issue. Russell-Martin has left a positive impact on us!  The 3-day training was informative, entertaining and enjoyable.  Trainers Lou and Susan are great motivators and the ideal choice for the SVRS training. The county coordinators at Quest have been approachable and easy to contact. I have visited their office several times and it is amazing to witness so many talented people working together, and remaining pleasant at the same time! 

We have been “LIVE” since Monday, May 2.  In truth, it has not been completely smooth all the time.  Being a “pilot” county, we realized there would be obstacles and issues along the way. Hendricks County has logged many, many concerns since implementation and we e-mail our county coordinator each afternoon a list of our discoveries. Our coordinator, Steve Eckerman, then relays this information to the Quest Help Desk. Not a single question or suggestion has gone un-answered.  The communication between the county and Help desk staff is strong.

There are many functions that are not available yet, but Quest has assured us of target dates for completion.  Some necessary tasks are reports, data extraction, jury, etc.  It is my hope that the pilot counties will continue to strive for perfection after being involved for so long, that when the remaining counties are ready, the system will be close to perfect.  There are definitely frustrating moments as with any new software program, keeping a positive attitude is definitely the key to success during the pilot period. Some days are tougher than others! I look forward to our next SVRS meeting to see how other pilot’s are doing; NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GET FRUSTRATED! IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO KEEP AN UPBEAT MOMENTUM GOING!

I understand the apprehensive feeling many of us are feeling.  It is frightening to see your registration cards shipped out to “someplace” for scanning!  I truly feel that the state of Indiana, thanks to the involvement of many people that truly care about the success of the SVRS implementation, we will once again be used as a fine example throughout the nation.  

 

Also, a thank you to SOS Todd Rokita for all he has done and continues to do.  He has been an approachable, open-door, dependable communicator throughout this entire task.  How rewarding it is to see it happening!