Northampton partnered with NewOrg to streamline mental health diversion referrals, secure participant data, and improve reporting.
The City of Northampton Department of Health and Human Services, operating
under the guidance of the Board of Health, is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and quality of life for residents, visitors, and surrounding communities across rural Western Massachusetts. Through disease surveillance, health promotion, substance use prevention, environmental health inspections, public outreach, and community education, the Department addresses both immediate public health needs and long-term community wellness. One of its most pioneering initiatives is the Division of Community Care (DCC), a public-health-led public safety model that serves as a “fourth responder” for individuals experiencing nonviolent mental health challenges, substance-related concerns and quality-of-life issues.
In addition to providing a safe and welcoming public space for individuals seeking support, trained Community Responders deliver non-clinical crisis intervention and unarmed mobile responses, meeting community members where they are and connecting them to both immediate assistance and long-term resources. Serving a vibrant and civically engaged city known for its commitment to equity and collaboration, the Department works closely with local, regional, and state partners to build a healthier, more resilient Northampton.
“Working with the NewOrg team transformed our complex challenges into solutions! It is a true partnership-they genuinely care about our work and share our passion for innovation and data modernization. For the past 3 years, NewOrg has helped us build a non-existent workflow from the ground up. They have pivoted whenever we needed, quickly made adjustments, and are always willing and able to help us brainstorm challenges. They are constantly adding new features and support videos which we all love!”
— Melissa Aloisi, Public Health Technology Manager, City of Northampton DHHS
“NewOrg are innovators like us. They understood our pain points and helped us build innovative solutions—they are empathy-driven. NewOrg helped us bridge our community needs with an affordable and secure system that is user-friendly and able to interface with our partner systems (API). This agility has transformed and automated many of our time-consuming tasks and allowed us to analyze our inefficiencies. NewOrg has been easily adaptable and scalable. David and his team truly helped turn our creative ideas into a data-driven solution that produces measurable results! We absolutely love the dashboarding as it has helped us leverage our data to secure new Grants and easily report to existing funders and the public.“
— Michele Farry, Public Health Technology Manager, City of Northampton DHHS
The Challenge: Fragmented Data, Limited Visibility, Growing Demand
Before partnering with NewOrg, the City of Northampton’s Department of Health and Human Services faced growing operational challenges as the Division of Community Care expanded, and its collaboration with the Drug and Alcohol Recovery Team deepened. Data was fragmented across multiple systems, limiting visibility, slowing response times, and making it difficult to securely manage sensitive personal information of participants. Existing tools lacked role-based permissions and structured caseload tracking, which created barriers to protecting participant confidentiality while coordinating across internal divisions and external partners. Integrating police incident reports, overdose data, dispatch referrals, and community referrals required manual review and routing, delaying case assignments, and limiting real-time insight into trends. Staff had limited access to consolidated historical data, making outcome measurement and funder reporting more labor intensive.
After evaluating 15 systems and narrowing to a top three, Northampton selected NewOrg based on its security standards, US-based hosting, industry experience, API capabilities, and long-term stability. The city sought a centralized, configurable platform to modernize case management, streamline workflows, and enable secure, real-time coordination between public health, police, dispatch, and community partners.
The Solution: A Centralized Platform Built for Real-Time Coordination
NewOrg implemented a comprehensive data management solution for the City of Northampton Department of Health and Human Services, featuring:
1. Role-Based Permissions
Configured by department and job role to protect sensitive personal information and documentation while enabling appropriate cross-program collaboration.
2. CIMS API Integration
3. Web Portals
4. Web Referral Form Integration
Automating the import of self-referrals and third-party referrals from community members through website forms.
5. Digital Forms
Digitized paper forms that can be signed electronically such as waivers, treatment plans, release of information to share with partners.
About Northampton
The City of Northampton Department of Health and Human Services works to protect and improve public health across Northampton and surrounding communities in Western Massachusetts. Through public health programs, community outreach, substance use prevention, environmental health, and its Division of Community Care, the department supports residents with both immediate needs and long term wellness.
About NewOrg
NewOrg is a cloud based data management platform built specifically for nonprofits. Designed to be flexible, intuitive, and scalable, NewOrg helps organizations manage contacts, track service delivery, coordinate events, and generate impact reports, all in one place. NewOrg is committed to equipping mission driven organizations with the technology they need to serve their communities more effectively. Learn more at www.neworg.com.
Media Contacts
Merridith O’Leary
City of Northampton DHHS
212 Main St.
Northampton, MA 01060
(413) 587-1214
health-dept@northamptonma.gov
Sotiris Koutsoyannis
Marketing/Communication Specialist
NewOrg Management System, Inc.
866-843-2835 x3
newsroom@neworg.com
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