Foundation-funded software has the potential to improve the delivery of health and human services
LOUISVILLE—The LG&E and KU Foundation, the charitable arm of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, has joined with Metro United Way and a variety of partners to support United Community, a software platform that allows organizations throughout the Louisville area to connect families in need with health, education and human services resources.
To build the platform, Metro United Way worked with Jefferson County Public Schools, Louisville Metro government, Norton Healthcare Inc., LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development and Evolve502: Louisville’s Promise from Cradle to Career.
United Community digitally links health care, community-based organizations and education to match people in need with appropriate services across all sectors. In addition to coordinating care, the platform tracks key measures in real time, including care effectiveness, patient experience and timeliness of care. All data is encrypted and secured.
“By connecting our community resources over one digital platform, we can streamline services, ensure quick, appropriate solutions for personalized needs, and improve health, education and well-being,” Metro United Way CEO Theresa Reno-Weber said.
“Our company has been a part of the fabric of this community for more than 100 years, and we’ve been a partner with the Metro United Way since its creation,” Kent Blake, LG&E and KU chief financial officer and Metro United Way board chair, told American Gas. “We have a vested interest in enhancing the quality of life for those in the communities that we serve and that our employees call home. This platform enables vital services to be provided faster and to more people in need.”
People likely to benefit from United Community include students from families in need of support services, individuals who could benefit from substance-abuse treatment or job services, and people who require community services to eat more healthfully or secure their medications. By tracking all of those people being served—as well as the organizations providing them assistance—the platform seeks to keep people from slipping through the cracks.
About 500 people, including case managers, social workers, guidance counselors, family resource officers and others, will be connected to the platform. The technology is already in use in several other cities and states across the country, but United Community is the first to incorporate the education sector.
In addition to the LG&E and KU Foundation, a variety of other organizations are supporting United Community, including the James Graham Brown Foundation, the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence, Kindred Healthcare, Passport Health Plan, Norton Healthcare, Humana Inc. and Community Foundation of Louisville.