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November 21, 2008
AIRS Training Schedule for December
Here is the December AIRS Training Calendar. All classes will be held at
Defran Systems. Please be advised that classes have been filling up
quickly. If you sign up for a class and are unable to make it please contact us
ASAP to cancel so we can move people from the waiting list into that
slot.
Wednesday, December 10th AIRS Basic Training 9:30-4:30
Thursday, December 11th AIRS Counseling and Testing (9:30-12:30;
1:30-4:30) Two Separate Half Day Classes!
Thursday, December 18th AIRS Basic Training 9:30-4:30
Friday, December 19th AIRS Reports Training (9:30-12:30)
Please e-mail Ron Palau at rpalau@defran.com to sign up.
Defran Systems, Inc.
5 East 16th Street 6th Floor
NY, New York. 10003
Phone: (646) 230-1056
User Group Meetings Page Updated
I have updated the "user group meetings" page with our 2009 schedule and information about our new user group webinars for upstate providers. A webinar is like a meeting on the internet. We all get to see the same presentation on our comuters while we can listen and talk via a conference call. We are really pleased to be able to offer our upstate users this "user group" experience. The webinars will start in January 2009 and will be a monthly meeting just like our NYC meeting.
I have also posted all the 2009 dates for the monthly Prevention conference call hosted by Ron Massaroni. For many years, Ron Massaroni has hosted a conference call for users from agencies with Prevention contracts. He has requested that we post the dates of his monthly conference call on our page. This way, all user group related information will be available from one source. Ron has minutes of his meetings which I will also post. The link to the minutes is available right on the user group page. Soon we will have minutes for our other user group meetings and as they become available, I will post them, too.
Check out this page and let me know what you think!
October 21st, 2008
AIRS Training Classes for November
Thursday November 6th – AIRS System Administration 9:30-4:30
Tuesday, November 11th- AIRS Cobra Case Management Billing 9:30-4:30
Thursday, November 13th- AIRS Basic Training 9:30-4:30
Friday, November 14th – AIRS Reports 9:30-12:30 (This ½ day class is an overview of the existing reports found in AIRS)
Tuesday, November 18th- AIRS Basic Training 9:30-4:30
All training classes will be held here at Defran Systems (address below).
If you or your staff is interested in attending you can either email Ron Palau at rpalau@defran.com or call at 646-230-1056.
Defran Systems, Inc.
5 East 16th Street 6th Floor
NY, New York. 10003
Phone: (646) 230-1056
FAX: (212) 727-8639
EMail: rpalau@defran.com
October 17th, 2008
New How2 Document
Larry has created a new How2 document on entering group activities.
This document is also posted on our page for online video tutorial where all the How2 guides are posted. Of course, we will be having video versions made soon. Let us know what you think and definitely give us suggestions on future topics.
Update of Past AIRS Issues from Larry Spiegel
There were a number of issues that arose at the September's AIRS
User Group Meeting in NYC. I've followed up on them. Here are their
statuses.
1) CLIENT ID On The INTAKE Screen:
The user can enter a Lower Case Agency-assigned Client ID and AIRS
will allow the same ID to be entered and saved but in Upper Case
without any warning or message to the user. For example, users can
enter and the Agency-assigned Client ID of "abc" and "ABC".
--> TESTING: Confirmed. Upon entry, URS changed all lower case
letters to CAPS while AIRS does not.
--> STATUS: The fix to have new entries changed to Upper Case will
be seen in AIRS V8.3. Past entries will also be changed.
2) ADD MULTIPLE SERVICES PROVIDED:
The list of Services is not always in alphabetical order and clicking
on the "Service Description" column heading does nothing. Need to
have these listed Alphabetically instead of by Code order.
--> TESTING: Confirmed.
--> STATUS: This had already been requested prior to the Meeting and
will be fixed in V8.2.
3) FIX DUPLICATE CLIENTS:
URS allowed the user to print the Client Profile and Intake from this
screen. In AIRS, the users have to navigate to the Reporting Module
and then to the Intake under the Client & Services Module prior to
running this utility.
--> TESTING: Confirmed.
--> STATUS: The functionality of this was by design and will remain
this way. The on-screen instructions, however, will be updated to
clarify what the users must do.
4) CTR - AUTOLOAD Of SITE Causes SAVING Of INCORRECT INFORMATION:
The auto-fill of the SITE based on the STAFF person entered has causes
problems at some agencies. If the user saves the CTR record without
checking that they have the correct SITE, the user cannot edit and
change the record to the correct SITE. (SITE is a factor in creating
the FORM ID, and CTR Locator Code.) They can only Delete the whole
CTR and have to re-enter everything (including all Tests, Referrals,
and Part D if needed). The suggestion was to remove the autoload of
the SITE based on the STAFF entered here.
--> TESTING: Confirmed but this only applies to PART A. The auto-
fill feature is not seen in PART B because the SITE is entered before
the STAFF.
--> STATUS: This was discussed. Some agencies would like the
autoload feature to be disabled while others find it useful since
their Staff are only at 1 Site. It was decided to add a "Preference
to Autoload or Not Autoload the SITE" throughout AIRS (and not just
CTR) for each STAFF member. This will be added to the Staff
Information screen to control each Staff entry's autoload
capability. It is scheduled for V8.3.
5) GROUP ACTIVITIES:
User claimed that they were still seeing some Client names on the
Attendee list even though the client was no longer enrolled in the
Group based on 'closing' the client out of the Program.
--> TESTING: Unconfirmed. When an End Date is entered for the
client's Program Enrollment, AIRS correctly enters an End Date on all
(Program) associated Group Enrollments. The Attendees screen in Group
Activities will show the client when the Date is within their
Enrollment. If the Date is after they have ended their Group
Enrollment, the client is not seen. This functions correctly.
--> FURTHER TESTING To CREATE The PROBLEM: If the user incorrectly
removes the End Date on the Group Enrollment record (and not the
associated Program Enrollment record), the client is seen in the
Attendees List for dates after their Program Enrollment ended.
--> STATUS: AIRS must prevent the latter scenario from unfolding.
Therefore, AIRS must check to see if a) the associated Program
requires Enrollment and b) whether the client has an open Enrollment
in the Program. If the Program Enrollment has ended, AIRS will be
programmed to prevent the user from saving the Group Enrollment
change. This should prevent the problem from occurring. This is
scheduled for V8.3.
6) GROUP & GROUP ACTIVITIES (The following item was mentioned at the
CDC Meeting on August 20):
An End Date can be entered for the GROUP but has no effect on what can
be entered in Group Activities. Users can continue entering Group
Activities for the Group after the End Date of the Group.
--> TESTING: Confirmed.
--> STATUS: This is a bug. The system should not allow saving a
Group Activity if the Date is after the End Date of the Group. The
process would be that the GROUP is selected in the Group Activities
screen and then a Date is entered. The fix is that the Date will be
validated once the user leaves the Date field. If the Date is after
the End Date of the Group, the user would receive a message indicating
the situation and be prevented from saving anything. This is
scheduled for V8.3.
I'd be happy to discuss any of these at the 10/23/08 User Group
Meeting.
Larry
Last User Group Meeting for the Year
We are meeting on Thursday, October 23rd for the last User Group Meeting of the year. We will be meeting at our usual place--The Dining Alcove on the 8th floor of Building A at FIT. The meeting starts at 10 AM. I hope to see everyone.
The user group meeting will resume it's monthly schedule in January of 2009.
October 2nd, 2008
A Special Message and Invitation From Vida Behn Chernoff
We are pleased to announce the first web-based Upstate AIRS User Group meeting. This forum will allow NYSDOH AIDS Institute staff and AIRS TA providers to communicate upcoming news and AIRS features as well as giving provider agencies an opportunity to ask questions and share information on use of the AIRS system.
Our initial web meeting will be held on October 14th at 2 pm. To participate, interested agencies should register on the AIRSNY.org website.
Here is the direct link:
http://www.airsny.org/upstateusergroupregistrationform.html
Participation requires an active internet connection and installation of the Microsoft LiveMeeting client as well as a phone line for audio. Only individuals who register on AIRSNY.org will receive the invitation email with the link needed to connect to the meeting. The dial-in information for the audio portion will be provided in the invitation email.
Once you have registered and received your invitation, please follow the instructions included in the invitation to ensure that you are able to connect to LiveMeeting.
We look forward to speaking to you on October 14th!
Vida Behn Chernoff, Director
Office of Systems Development, NYSDOH AIDS Institute
AIRS Training for Upstate Providers
We have scheduled several classes for our upstate providers in Rochester and Syracuse.
Rochester
October 8th, 28th, 29th, 2008
Classes offered: Basic Hands On, Counseling Testing & Referral, system Admin and Reports
Syracuse
October 30th, 2008
Classes offered: System Administration, Counseling Testing & Referral
If you are an upstate provider, you will be receiving an e-mail from us with registration information. If you did not receive an e-mail from us or just want to make sure that you are on our mailing list, please e-mail Jack Ellsbury at JXE07@health.state.ny.us.
September 29th, 2008
October 2008 AIRS Training Calendar
Wednesday October 15, 2008-- AIRS Basic Training 9:30AM - 4:30PM
Thursday October 16, 2008-- AIRS Basic Training 9:30AM - 4:30PM
Tuesday October 21, 2008-- AIRS Counseling, Testing, and Referrals (CTR)
Two separate half day classes; 9:30AM - 12:30PM; 1:30PM - 4:30PM
Please contact Ron Palau (see below) to sign up. All classes will take place at Defran Systems, Inc.
Defran Systems, Inc.
5 East 16th Street 6th Floor
NY, New York. 10003
Phone: (646) 230-1056
FAX: (212) 727-8639
EMail: rpalau@defran.com
WEB: www.defran.com
NEW "How2 Guides"!
Larry has produced four new short how-to guides:
HOW2-SaveReports-asPDF
HOW2-Review-DataMappings
HOW2-LookupClients-by-TC_ID
HOW2-Backup-AIRS-in3steps
I have posted these useful documents here on the news page and on the Online Video Tutorials Page because we will also produce companion videos for these guides. We plan on doing many more how-to guides both in video and paper formats. They are coming soon!
September 18th, 2008
User Group Meeting on Thursday, September 25th!
We are meeting at the Dining Alcove on the 8th Floor o Building A at FIT. I hope to see everyone there!
August 21, 2008
User Group Meeting on Thursday, 8/28 at FIT!
As usual, we are meeting at the Dining Alcove on the 8th floor. I hope to see everyone!
September 2008 AIRS Training Calendar
September 4th-- AIRS Basic Training (9:30- 4:30)
September 11th-- AIRS Cobra Case Management (9:30- 4:30)
September 16th-- AIRS System Administration (9:30- 4:30)
September 18th-- AIRS Basic Training (9:30- 4:30)
September 23rd-- AIRS CTR Training (9:30- 12:30)
Please contact Ron Palau (see below) to sign up. All classes will take place at Defran Systems, Inc.
Defran Systems, Inc.
5 East 16th Street 6th Floor
NY, New York. 10003
Phone: (646) 230-1056
FAX: (212) 727-8639
EMail: rpalau@defran.com
WEB: www.defran.com
August 1, 2008
August 2008 AIRS Trainings Calendar
Wednesday, August 6th- AIRS System Administration 9:30-4:30
Thursday, August 14th- AIRS Basic Training 9:30- 4:30
Tuesday, August 19th- AIRS CTR Training 9:30- 12:30
If you or your staff is interested in attending please contact Ron Palau to
schedule.
All classes are held at Defran Systems, address below.
Ron Palau
Defran Systems, Inc.
5 East 16th Street, 6th Floor
NY, New York. 10003
Phone: (646) 230-1056
FAX: (212) 727-8639
EMail: rpalau@defran.com
July 17, 2008
User Group Meeting on Thursday, July 24th
Please note that we are back to FIT for our User Group Meeting on the 24th. As usual, we meet at the Dining Alcove on the 8th floor.
Please make sure that you join the Google Group if you have not already done so. The Google Group will allow you to get alerts about upgrades and other information from Defran, the AIDS Institute and other users. Click on the "User Group Meetings" link at the left to get more information about joining the Google Group.
July 1, 2008
July 2008 AIRS Training Calendar
July 11th--Cobra Case Mgmt Billing 9:30-4:30
July 22nd--AIRS System Admin 9:30-4:30
July 25th--AIRS Basic Training 9:30-4:30
July 29th-- AIRS Basic training 9:30-4:30
July 31st--AIRS CTR 9:30-12:30
All classes will be held at Defran Systems, Inc.
5 East 16th Street 6th Floor
NY, New York. 10003
Please call or email Ron Palau to schedule.
Phone: (646) 230-1056
Email: rpalau@defran.com
June 23, 2008
User Group Meeting on Thursday, June 26 at 10 AM
Please remember that we are meeting at Cicatelli Associates (Oak Room on the 2nd Floor). Cicatelli is at 505 8th Avenue--corner of 35th and 8th. I hope to see you all on Thursday!
June 17, 2008
New Version of AIRS Released!
AIRS Version 8.1.201 has now been released. Any agency that has a prior version of AIRS should apply this upgrade since it contains numerous improvements/fixes and changes including the following:
HIVQUAL EXTRACT & REPORT: Extract will limit the sample population to HIV+ clients who are >= 13 years of age as of the Start Date of the Reporting Year AND have received at least 1 service in the 1st half and at least 1 service in the 2nd half of the report year.
CTR Module: Fixes and changes include the ability to edit CTR encounters from the Services Form and the CTR Module.
HIV Prevention Outcome Monitoring: This confidential Prevention survey's purpose is to allow the agency to learn about the client's HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
To download the new software and the complete release notes, please log onto the Defran Support website (http://support.defran.com) and look for the following files:
* AIRSSystemUpdate81_201.zip
(This is the version upgrade.)
* AIRS-UpgInstruct81.pdf
(contains AIRS Version Upgrade Instructions for V8.1. This document will outline the steps necessary to upgrade to V 8.1.201 )
* Release_notes_v81.pdf
(contains V8.1 Release Notes complete with detailed descriptions of additions, changes, and corrections)
Print/read the Upgrade Instructions document (AIRS-Upginstruct81.pdf). This document will provide the steps you must take to successfully install this upgrade. Defran asks that you fax or contact Defran to let them know that you have successfully upgraded. Defran keeps a log of downloads and will forward the log to the AIDS Institute so everyone knows where each agency is in terms of the version used.
If you have questions or require additional information, please contact.
Defran Systems AIRS Support
Internet: http://support.defran.com
(Login & Password Required)
Email: airs@defran.com
Phone: (212) 727-8342 Option #4
May 28, 2008
New Trainings for NYC Scheduled for June
Ron Paulau has scheduled the following AIRS trainings for the month of
June
at Defra Systems, Inc.. 5 East 16th ST 6th Floor.
6/12- AIRS Basic Training
6/24- AIRS Basic Training
6/27 AIRS CTR
Please call Ron at Defran to sign up-- 646-230-1056.
May 21, 2008
New Upstate Training Available for 3 Cities in June
We have scheduled several trainings sessions for June in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. Below are the course descriptions and registration forms.
The June 2nd and 3rd training in Buffalo will be held at Campus Linc which is located at 25 John Glenn Drive Amherst NY 14228
June 2nd 9:30-12:00 AIRS System Administration
June 2nd 1:00-4:30 AIRS Basic Training
June 3rd 9:30-1:30 AIRS CTR Training with AIRS Basic Review
May 28, 2008
New Trainings for NYC Scheduled for June
Ron Paulau has scheduled the following AIRS trainings for the month of
June
at Defra Systems, Inc.. 5 East 16th ST 6th Floor.
6/12- AIRS Basic Training
6/24- AIRS Basic Training
6/27 AIRS CTR
Please call Ron at Defran to sign up-- 646-230-1056.
May 21, 2008
New Upstate Training Available for 3 Cities in June
We have scheduled several trainings sessions for June in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. Below are the course descriptions and registration forms.
The June 2nd and 3rd training in Buffalo will be held at Campus Linc which is located at 25 John Glenn Drive Amherst NY 14228
June 2nd 9:30-12:00 AIRS System Administration
June 2nd 1:00-4:30 AIRS Basic Training
June 3rd 9:30-1:30 AIRS CTR Training with AIRS Basic Review
The June 4th and 5th training for Rochester will be held at Layer 3 Technologies located at 189 North Water Street Rochester NY 14604
June 4th 9:30-12:00 AIRS System Administration
June 4th 1:00-4:30 AIRS Basic Training
June 5th 9:30-1:00 AIRS Basic Training
June 5th 2:00-4:30 AIRS CTR Training
The June 16th and 17th Training for Syracuse will be held at Bryand & Stratton College and is located at 8687 Carling Road Liverpool NY 13090
June 16th 9:30-12:00 AIRS System Administration
June 16th 1:00-4:30 AIRS Basic Training
June 17th 9:30-1:00 AIRS Basic Training
June 17th 2:00-4:30 AIRS CTR Training
May 19th, 2008
User Group Meeting Thursday (5/22) at FIT
I hope to see everyone at the User Group Meeting this Thursday. We will be meeting at 10 AM in the Dining Alcove next to room A803.
The BCSS RW Part B Mental Health Services Short Form has also been added to the forms page.
April 25, 2008
Larry Spiegel is coming to the AIDS Institute!
Yes, it was announced at the User Group Meeting yesterday that Larry Spiegel from Defran Systems, Inc. will be working for the AIDS Institute starting May 19th, 2008. He will be in charge of AIRS training here at AI. Technical Support will continue to be provided by Defran Systems, Inc.
Welcome Larry!
The new version of AIRS is being tested as we speak. Lots of improvements and goodies are included in this new version. Users at the User Group already got a preview yesterday and are very pleased with the improvements. We expect it to be released sometime in the middle of May. Check back here for the latest updates.
April 21, 2008
User Group Meeting on Thursday, 4/24 at 10 AM
We are having our monthly user group this Thursday. We will be meeting at FIT as usual but we are meeting at the Dining Alcove which is just down the hall from room A803. I hope to see everyone there.
We should have a new AIRS release coming out soon. Of course, as soon as it is released, we will announce it right here on the news page and on the AIRS Google Group. If you have not joined the Google group, just click on the "User Group Meeting" link on the left and you can sign up. It is quick and easy.
March 24, 2008
Welcome to AIRS!
The new AIRS website is finally up and running. Please take a look around. As you will see, the site is very similar to our old site. It just looks different. I hope you like the new design.
One thing I would like to point out is our new Google Group. You can signup and get more information by clicking the "User Group Meetings" link on the left. We will be using the Google Group to post and send information alerts. We will no longer be using the Yahoo Group.
I hope you will at least sign up for e-mail updates from the Google Group. But by joining, you will have the ability to post messages as well. You can post questions or job openings from your agency, and everyone in the group will be able to see your posts and provide information or responses.. It is easy to join and you can control how the group updates you with information so you will never be overwhelmed with e-mails.
I will talk more about our website at our User Group Meeting this coming Thursday (3/27). As usual, we will be meeting at FIT, Room A803. I hope to see you there.