Mineola, NY – Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, joined by senior County officials and members of the Nassau County Legislature, today announced another major step forward in the use of technology to provide enhanced services for County residents at lower cost to the County.  

Standing before hundreds of empty shelves that have already been cleared of millions of documents, Suozzi demonstrated the electronic scanning which is a part of the new County Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) initiative.  EDMS allows for the scanning, storage, retrieval, sharing and tracking of document-based information throughout the County.  The program is already well underway in the Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, where more than 26 million documents will be electronically scanned, and will eventually be expanded to other County agencies and departments.

"This represents a major step forward technologically as we continue our efforts to bring Nassau County into the 21st century,” said County Executive Suozzi.  “With this new technology, our Health and Human Services agencies will provide smarter, more efficient services to our many clients, while at the same time reducing costs for the County.  I commend our team of County employees from HHS, Information Technology and Real Estate who have worked together to accomplish this tremendous goal.”

“This effort is a significant part of realizing the larger consolidation effort of all Health and Human Services agencies in Nassau County, and will easily interface with a customized software program that supports No Wrong Door, our innovative initiative that will consolidate nearly all social services agencies under one roof,” said Dr. Mary Curtis, Deputy County Executive for HHS.  “Working in partnership with a number of vendors, our HHS staff has achieved real success in our overall effort to provide better service and quicker access to data through the accessibility of electronic images.”

 “Given the improvements that are realized through EDMS, the business units of HHS, along with the implementation of No Wrong Door, were the most logical place to start,” said Robert Checca, Commissioner of Information Technology.  “We will continue implementing this program throughout the County.”

The total cost for the project is $8.7 million, which covers the software, associated equipment and the scanning of documents.  Much of this cost is being covered by New York State, which considers this a pilot project with Nassau County Department of Social Services.  The County has partnered with numerous New York State agencies, including Office For Technology (OFT), Office Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA), the Department of Health (DOH), and Office Children and Family Services (OCFS).  This has resulted in extensive cost savings to Nassau County by maximizing available reimbursements. 

"New York State has been a strong advocate over the last decade for using the latest technological advances to make the delivery of social services more efficient and cost effective," said OTDA Commissioner Robert Doar. "This new imaging system in Nassau County is an example of how that can happen."