ANOKA COUNTY, Minn. – Seeing a need to serve veterans more efficiently the Anoka County Veteran Services Office recently implemented a virtual waiting room, and so far the new program has worked to perfection.
“There’s usually a veteran in our office at all times,” mentioned John Kriesel, Director of Anoka County Veterans Services, “We now have a system where they can check in and we can see that on our computer regardless of what we’re doing.”
Besides just being a communication tool between the waiting room and the staff, the new program also provides veteran service officers with a wealth of information.
“It helps with stats like how long their waiting, what they are here for, and we can determine ways to improve and find areas to conduct more outreach,” explained Kriesel.
This idea was conceived by Anoka County Veteran Services Office and the creation of the program was done by the Anoka County’s own IT department. As word of the virtual waiting room has spread several other agencies are hoping to adapt the technology for their own needs.
“We hope this spreads because it’s a great idea,” said Kriesel.
John also commented that the reaction for the veterans using the program has been mostly positive so far. The office also provides two administrative assistants to help explain how to use the new system to veterans.
If you would like to see this new technology or learn more about the work of the Veterans Services Office, you are invited to an upcoming open house on April 26th from 12pm – 4pm.
Last year the Veteran Services Office served more than 7,000 veterans, which was an 11% increase over the previous year. And, as Anoka County is home to upwards of 30,000 veterans they project those numbers to continue to climb.
Related Links
Anoka County Veteran Services
MN Dept. of Veterans Affairs
U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
