During the October Champ Software webinar, Breanna Case, Operations Specialist for Webster County Health (Iowa), explained how her team found unexpected solutions after implementing their public health electronic health record (EHR) system. Follow this blog series to learn about the four surprising wins Webster County achieved.
Blog Series
Part 2: A Platform for Connection
Breaking Down Silos in Public Health Data Systems
When the Webster County Health Department implemented Nightingale Notes, they weren’t looking for a collaboration platform — yet that’s exactly what they found.
For years, program teams tracked data separately; programs like WIC, communicable disease, immunizations, and family health all lived in their own silos. Consequently, each program had its own spreadsheets, reports, and workarounds. Therefore, staff were constantly asking for updates, re-entering information, and verifying whether data matched across systems.
“We realized how much time we were spending asking for data that was already entered somewhere else,” said Breanna Case, Operations Specialist at Webster County Health Department.
“Now we can see client activity across programs instantly — it’s changed how we work together.”
The Cost of Fragmented Public Health Software
That shift reflects a major challenge in both healthcare and public health. In many organizations, data is fragmented across multiple systems, forcing staff to hunt for the same information in different places. As HealthTech Magazine notes, “Siloed data retrieval demands excessive time and effort…a lot of time is wasted finding the right information, causing delays in diagnosis and treatment.”
This burden is amplified in public health— agencies must coordinate programs, registries, grants, and community partnerships. Without integration, agencies lose valuable insights, and reporting becomes an uphill battle.
Connected Community Health Software That Works
With Nightingale Notes, those barriers disappeared.
Nightingale Notes unified data that once lived in separate files and systems, making it accessible in one shared workspace. As a result, staff across departments could instantly view client records, track interventions, and collaborate in real time.
The unexpected outcomes:
- Improved Accuracy: Eliminating duplicate entry reduced human error and kept information consistent across programs.
- Greater Efficiency: Staff spend less time searching and more time serving.
- Enhanced Trust: Teams gained confidence in their shared data — and in each other’s work.
As a result, Nightingale Notes became more than a record system — it became the hub that connects people, programs, and outcomes across Webster County.
Upcoming Blogs in This Series
- Seeing the Whole Picture – Grant Management, Reporting and Data Visibility in One System
- Redefining Value – When an EHR Becomes a Public Health Improvement Tool
Watch a short excerpt from the full webinar video below: