FAQ

Answers to our most frequently asked questions about the PRC Optimization Tool and how to implement it.

 

What is OT?

OT is the abbreviation for Optimization Tool©, a proven and comprehensive management tool for medical pregnancy centers seeking to increase the number of abortion-minded clients that they see and serve them in such a way that they choose to continue their pregnancy.

What is the goal of OT?

The Optimization Tool© was designed to accomplish two specific goals:

  1. To reach more abortion-minded women.
  2. To be more effective in helping them have their babies.

How does OT benefit my clinic?

There are many benefits to your clinic:

  1. The OT is designed to dramatically reduce the amount of stress and insecurity felt by staff and volunteers when interfacing with their patients. This is accomplished by identifying and outlining very clear expectations for each job function, and providing scripts and supporting documents for every step in the patient appointment.
  2. Department leaders and Executives can be confident that they know exactly what is being said to each patient every step of the way, and staff and volunteers can feel confident that they know exactly what is expected of them and that they are serving each woman with excellence.
  3. The organization decreases its risk of liability because all information and services provided to patients is standardized and is delivered the same way for each woman.

Why is it free?

After seven years of experimentation and continuous improvement, the PRCs currently running the Optimization Tool© have proven its effectiveness, repeatability, and transferability across the nation. The mission of OT is to reverse the national abortion trend by empowering PRCs everywhere to reach and serve abortion-minded women in a reliable and effective way. By offering this tool free of charge, financial barriers which may have prevented PRCs from considering OT have been eliminated. Executives will also be able to review the entire Optimization Tool© before making the decision to implement, and will have full control of their own training and implementation process. By lowering these barriers we hope to expand the community of the highest performing, most innovative, cutting edge PRCs in the world.

What is a Linear Service Model (LSM)?

A Linear Service Model (LSM) is an approach to serving women that focuses on solving the common problem of unplanned pregnancy each woman faces by taking each woman through a consistent, chronological, scripted, step-by-step decision-making process in an effort to answer the right questions in the right order. One of the key assumptions in a good LSM is that the manner in which services are provided is just as important as the services themselves. An LSM standardizes services to women and ensures that those services are provided the same way with each and every patient for the purposes of accountability (which safeguards the organization from attack), and for measurability (which allows for targeted changes to keep the organization on the cutting edge of service). This LSM can also accurately be termed the “Problem-focused Model” as it allows the organization to be an expert at solving a particular problem without having to be an expert at the individual circumstances of each patient/client. This is a more Biblical approach because it is the approach that God in Christ took by solving each person’s sin problem through solving the issue of sin itself on the cross.

How does a LSM differ from the typical PRC model?

The typical PRC model functions as a “ministry” providing a buffet of services which are offered to each client/patient, and presented in whatever way seems best to the staff member or volunteer. This is referred to as a “Global Services Model.” Because of a lack of systematic service implementation (not doing it the same way every time), this model is subjective in nature. In contrast, the Linear Service Model is a consistent and systematic process.

How do your strategies and your program differ from others that are available to Pregnancy Clinics?

The value of the Optimization Tool© is that it was created by people who are doing exactly what you are doing: reaching and serving abortion-minded women, one at a time. The process continues to be refined and improved, with continuous research and development, in response to the ever-changing culture of at-risk women.

Can we change the Optimization Tool© to fit our unique circumstances?

Yes. However, the OT is designed to be implemented in its entirety. Do not expect to be able to implement portions of the model and achieve the same results. That said, when the culture of a Linear Service Model and the core values of Fighting Spirit, Relevance, and Accountability are embraced within your organization, the desire to improve the effectiveness of the patient service processes will lead to continuous improvement and measured modification. All process changes should be purposeful and targeted toward improving measurable service process outcomes.

How do we get materials?

Simply fill out the Registration form to create a user account on this website. Once you are logged in, simply go to the Resources tab and click on Manuals to download all of CompassCare’s Optimization Tool© materials.

How do we train our staff?

Training can be accomplished in a couple of ways:

Self-Implementation:  For a PRC that is internally motivated and has a very enthusiastic team, the tools are all available for you to implement the OT yourself, without cost.   The OT Manual is a training document in itself, but also includes several ‘Self-Training Modules.’

Training Services:  There are OT Pregnancy Centers around the country – PRCs who are trained by CompassCare and experienced with implementing the Optimization Tool. Many of them are willing to provide coaching services to help you through the implementation process.

What is the timeline for training, customization, program set-up, and implementation? When will we see results?

If your core staff team is able to focus several hours per week exclusively on the transition to becoming an Optimized Center, and other staff and volunteers are prepared for training in the new model, optimization (training and implementation) will take between 4-6 months. Centers often begin to see positive results before completing the implementation process. However an additional 3-6 months of consistently running the Optimization Tool© is needed in order to see statistically significant increases in the number of at-risk women served and the number of those women choosing to have their babies.

This 6-12 month timeline depends almost entirely on the commitment of the Board, Executive and the rest of the staff to accomplish the goal of completing optimization, and may take even longer if your Center is not fully able to focus on implementing the Optimization Tool©.

Will staff readily embrace a transition to the Optimization Tool?

Change in any organization is difficult. Resistance and push back from staff, volunteers and even donors, especially long-term staff and volunteers, should be expected. In most cases resistance can be overcome with clear communication on the results you are working toward, along with an understanding not only of what you are doing, but the reasoning behind it.

How do we track metrics?

A method for measuring the performance of your organization against its stated objective and goals is essential for educated improvement. What you measure, you will change. There are many tools with various levels of sophistication available to help you track metric data and create reports to summarize the data. This can be as simple as tally sheets, and as complex as a SQL database with advanced, ad hoc reporting features.

We believe the best way to track metrics is through CompassCare’s Optimize software system, that no only guides your staff through the entire patient service process, but then captures all your data and creates meaningful metrics reports at the click of a button.

What do you mean by an abortion-minded woman?

An Abortion-minded woman is generally known as one who is pregnant and has already decided to have an abortion. However, in many cases, this becomes a subjective classification, given by a staff or volunteer without any specific criteria around each designation. In order to accurately classify each woman, and be sure that the metrics used to measure effectiveness are consistent across the entire network of OT centers, the Optimization Tool© uses a set of seven risk factors to identify the level of each woman’s risk.

The more risk factors a woman has, the higher her risk. When a woman has four or more of the seven risk factors, she is considered “Abortion-minded.” When she has one, two or three risk factors, she is “Abortion-vulnerable.” If she has no risk factors, she is categorized as “Carry-to-term.”

Does having a service “system” exclude the Holy Spirit from working in the counseling room?

If anything, the intentional preparation a service system requires provides more room for the Holy Spirit to move more readily and predictably. The question is akin to whether or not the Holy Spirit leads a Pastor of a Church when preparing and studying for his Sunday morning sermon. The more time he spends in preparation for interfacing with the congregation, the more the Holy Spirit can move within the details of each individual life during that particular service.

Does the medical model exclude explicitly sharing the Gospel with the women?

No. Sharing the gospel during one of the most teachable moments in a young woman’s life is a responsibility, and falls in the category of “objective information” she needs to make a well informed decision. Timing is important as well as the manner in which it is done. For optimization this is Step 13 in the 15 step process. One of the Optimized centers has seen a consistent 20% conversion rate over two years.

Please note that the “Great Commission” is two-fold in its directive, 1) make disciples and 2) teach them to observe all that I have commanded (Mt 28. 19, 20). These directives are not necessarily chronological, meaning the first aspect is not required to come before the second. The principles that God in Christ taught are necessary and valuable for all of humanity, Christian or not. Sometimes, especially if a person is facing a physical/emotional crisis, we must meet that crisis need before they can truly understand and apply the meaning of the Gospel in their lives (as made explicit in the letter by James). There is an implicit responsibility of the children of God to act with Justice, meaning those with power and influence are required to wield it on behalf of those with none as noted in Micah 6:8, “…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”. We must speak and act on behalf of those who cannot do so for themselves. Widows and orphans were that category of people in the Middle East 2000 years ago to which James was referring in James 1:27 regarding the faithful practicing of “pure and undefiled religion.” The only category of people for whom that is really true in America today is children in the womb, who are not recognized as human beings with the same rights and privileges afforded you and me.

We don’t have a medical background or business degrees. Will we be able to implement this medical paradigm and be able to get similar results?

Yes. The beauty of the Optimized Medical Model is its simplicity. If you are confused with client/patient marketing, patient flow and how policies and procedures play a role in this new paradigm of service, the Optimization Tool© is perfect. It is a basic operating platform that provides specific, step by step and scripted service design that can be implemented as-is within a given organization.

We don’t have a million dollar budget. How can we pull this off?

You do not need a lot of money to be effective and efficient. You simply need a plan, and that is what is being offered in the Optimization Tool©.

Our PRC is spread thin. We are trying to help in so many ways, and we don’t seem to have enough time, money or people. Does your program address this?

The mission of each center using OT is to erase the need for abortion by transforming a woman’s fear into confidence. This very specific mission allows each center using the Optimization Tool© to more efficiently choose where to spend its resources (whether that means people, time, money or space). It is always difficult for an organization to decide which programs should continue and which should be eliminated when there are not enough resources to do it all. In making these difficult decisions you will need to keep in mind what is the best way serve your community and those women most at-risk for abortion.