Hackers Make Technology Work for Nonprofits

When HCA Healthcare Hacks, Nonprofits Benefit

HCA Healthcare’s Information Technology and Services (IT&S) division works to transform healthcare through technology daily. The tech solutions our department develops help caregivers serve patients more efficiently and positively impacts more lives. And the work doesn’t stop at HCA Healthcare. Our “Simplify IT” approach filters out into Middle Tennessee with our second Hack for the Community.

An estimated 80 HCA Healthcare IT&S employees will serve the Greater Nashville area in a 36-hour “hackathon” on October 13-14 to support local nonprofits with limited technology resources. First organized and implemented by the HCA Healthcare Foundation in 2014, Hack for the Community, now with the backing of the Nashville Technology Council, has more than 12 businesses and 150 IT professionals offering their tech expertise during this community initiative.

As one of ComputerWorld’s “Best Places to Work in IT,” I’m proud of our HCA Healthcare volunteers who choose to use their talent, innovation and skills to help nonprofits provide better customer service and streamline their operations through technology.

The How-Tos of Hack for the Community
There’s a lot of preparation that goes into making an event like this a success. Local nonprofits applied to participate in Hack for the Community last spring, detailing their technical wish-list and potential solution for consideration. Our techies and project management experts then went through the difficult task of selecting the 20 agencies that would benefit from a hack.

From a staff scheduling platform to an interactive blog to a Twitter-bot that may spark an interest in science, our IT volunteers are up for the hackathon challenge.

As technology continues to evolve, we want to ensure our community will not be left behind. At HCA Healthcare, we work to “Simplify IT.” And we’re taking that mindset to help make a difference in Nashville and beyond. 

Take a look this year’s city-wide Hack for the Community projects below:

Adventure Science Center
Build a twitter bot to change the color of the Center’s pyramid on-demand and spark an interest in science.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee
Develop a staff scheduling platform to provide safe spaces for children throughout the day.

Council on Aging of Middle Tennessee
Revamp an online directory to improve care navigation for older adults.

Faith Family Medical Center
Create an online appointment scheduling system for patients.

Junior Achievement
Develop a volunteer opportunity map to help match volunteers with sites in their neighborhoods.

Monroe Harding
Create a task management app for young people to learn life skills.

Nashville Adult Literacy Council
Streamline a volunteer registration system to reduce client waitlists.

Nashville Conflict Resolution Center
Develop a survey by text platform to follow-up with mediation clients and improve services.

Nashville Opera Association
Create an interactive blog to encourage engagement in the classical arts.

Nashville Public Library Foundation
Build an online referral tool to connect clients to adult literacy services.

PENCIL Foundation
Create volunteer tracking system to record community investment in MNPS schools.

Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee
Develop an online inventory to help case workers provide families with the basics childcare supplies they need.

Project Return
Build a job recommendation tool for staff to match former offenders with jobs.

Renewal House
Create a web-based tool to maintain compliance with governmental funding requirements.

Safe Haven Family Shelter
Develop an online inventory system to improve tracking of in-kind donations.

St. Luke’s Community House
Build a mobile-friendly platform for volunteers and clients to register to serve and receive services.

Tennessee Respite Coalition
Transform a paper process into an online respite voucher application for caregivers.

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
Develop an integrated solution to communicate with disaster relief grantees.

The Nashville Food Project
Create an online tool for volunteers to find the right opportunity to lend a hand.

Waves, Inc.
Build a web-based tracking system for adults with disabilities to find employment.

You can keep up with the hackathon here, through the social media channels below and by following the #H4tC hashtag. 

Twitter: @HCAFoundation @HCAhealthcare @nashtechcouncil @HCA_IT

Facebook: HCA Healthcare Foundation Nashville Tech Council HCA Healthcare IT&S

Nicole Tremblett is vice president of HCA Healthcare Information Technology and Services (IT&S) Strategy & Planning and currently serves as Board Chair of the Nashville Technology Council.