Streamlining Management of 22 Nonprofit Healthcare Facilities Across 200 Miles
FM Case Study – Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin serves communities with healthcare, education and advocacy through 22 locations stretching across the state. The organization’s Vice President of Security and Technology – a title that illustrates the overlap of safety, security, and facilities – operates with a lean team of just four people—two facility technicians, a facility coordinator, and the VP herself. The department maintains healthcare facilities spread across hundreds of miles while ensuring compliance with strict accreditation standards and maintaining the safety and security protocols essential to their mission.
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Overview
Industry
Healthcare Services
Portfolio Size
22 locations across Wisconsin, 250,000 square feet
Challenges
- High costs, poor vendor communication, and security challenges from 3rd party
- Scattered documentation
- Multiple facilities across a 200 mile spread with limited staff
Time Using AkitaBox
2 Years
The Breaking Point: When Third-Party Management Stopped Making Sense
Challenge: Excessive Costs and Declining Service
For years, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin had relied on a third-party facility management company to handle maintenance across their locations. However, the significant markups on services, poor communication, and security challenges had become untenable. Staff at health centers would receive visits from contractors without warning. “The staff always felt uncomfortable because they had vendors showing up and they weren’t aware,” the VP notes. In healthcare settings, knowing exactly who will be on-site and when is a critical safety protocol.
Challenge: Disorganized Documentation
The organization’s facility information lived in a maze of shared Excel spreadsheets, creating constant challenges for the small facilities team. “When you have shared Excel, somebody’s gonna mess up when they delete the wrong row,” says the VP. This precarious system meant that critical asset information, maintenance histories, and vendor details could vanish with a single misplaced keystroke.
The spreadsheet system also failed to capture the full scope of assets across the 22 locations. When accreditation reviews or emergency repairs arose, the team scrambled to piece together information from various sources, wasting time they couldn’t afford to lose.
Challenge: Limited Staff Managing Vast Geography
With just two facility technicians based in Milwaukee responsible for locations up to 3 hours away, every trip requires careful planning and coordination. Without a centralized system to track work orders, preventive maintenance schedules, and asset conditions across all locations, the technicians often arrived at sites only to discover they lacked the right parts or tools for unexpected issues. This forced extra supply runs and potentially increased vehicle costs while reducing time available for actual maintenance work.
The AkitaBox Solution: Bringing Facility Management Control In-House
After evaluating their options, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin made the bold decision to bring facility management in-house, selecting AkitaBox as their technology partner in August 2023. The platform offered the comprehensive features they needed while remaining intuitive enough for rapid deployment across their small team.
Implementation Approach
Rather than attempting a wholesale transformation overnight, the VP and her team took a measured approach to implementation, using AkitaBox for their own work tickets first, learning the system’s capabilities while immediately improving their daily operations.
This phased approach allowed the team to work out processes and preferences, develop training materials, and establish workflows before expanding to the health centers. By starting small and building momentum, they avoided the overwhelming feeling that often derails software implementations.
The team prioritized getting preventive maintenance schedules into the system early, recognizing that proactive maintenance would deliver immediate value. “We have things in there like our pest control, our semi-annual HVAC inspections, and annual fire extinguisher inspections,” the VP notes. These automated reminders ensure critical maintenance wouldn’t fall through the cracks from the beginning.
”"This has been such a fantastic tool, that I don't know how we managed without it."
VP of Security & TechnologyPlanned Parenthood of Wisconsin
Results: Efficiency Gains and Cost Savings
Financial Impact
The financial transformation was immediate and substantial. By eliminating the third-party management company’s fees and markups, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin removed a significant line item from their budget.
The organization also realized additional cost savings through improved operational efficiency. Better trip planning reduced return trips and extra visits to the local supply stores when technicians didn’t arrive with all the needed supplies.
Operational Improvements
The transformation extends far beyond cost savings. Leadership now has real-time visibility into facility conditions and needs across the portfolio. When accreditation review time arrives, the typically stressful process has become remarkably smooth. “We passed our accreditation with flying colors,” the VP reports. The preparation that once consumed weeks of gathering documentation and creating reports now took “just a few days” thanks to comprehensive record-keeping in AkitaBox.
Tuesday morning facilities meetings have evolved into efficient planning sessions. What once required cross-referencing multiple spreadsheets and email chains now happens in real-time on a shared screen.
Despite managing 22 locations with just four people, the team found themselves working more effectively than ever before. The automation of routine tasks—from preventive maintenance scheduling to work order routing—freed up time for strategic planning and proactive problem-solving. “Having this ticket system has been such a good tool for us,” the VP emphasizes.
The Security Factor: A Unique Benefit for Planned Parenthood
Just as importantly, the improved communication and transparency has reduced stress across the organization. When Facilities or vendors are scheduled for site visits, health center managers receive notice through AkitaBox two-way communication, eliminating the anxiety-inducing surprise visits that plagued the old system. “Now we have full control of who we’re asking to come to our sites,” the VP explains.
Looking Forward: Building on Success
Continuous Improvement
While the transformation has been dramatic, the VP and her team see AkitaBox as a platform for continuous improvement rather than a destination. The ongoing asset cataloging project continues to expand, with particular focus on medical equipment that wasn’t included in the initial implementation.
The team continues to refine their use of the Capture app, finding new efficiencies in data collection and documentation. Each site visit adds more detail to their digital facility map, creating an increasingly valuable resource for decision-making and planning. The historical data accumulating in AkitaBox provides insights into equipment lifecycles, maintenance costs, and failure patterns that will inform future capital planning and preventive maintenance strategies.
Advice for Similar Organizations
- Start simple and phase implementation – Begin with basic work orders before adding advanced features to avoid overwhelming small teams
- Schedule regular system reviews – The PPWI team pulls up AkitaBox weekly at their facilities meeting to maintain momentum and alignment
- Build local vendor networks – Focusing on hiring more local vendors for specialized expertise with in-house control
- Document everything – Protect against staff turnover and satisfy compliance requirements by capturing institutional knowledge in the system
True Transformation with the Right Technology Platform
As the VP reflects on the transformation, her enthusiasm is evident: “This has been such a fantastic tool that I just don’t know how we managed without it.” For organizations facing similar challenges—whether managing multiple locations, dealing with compliance requirements, or simply trying to do more with less—Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s experience demonstrates that sometimes the best solution isn’t to outsource complexity but to embrace it with better tools and processes.
