The Fond du Lac MIS Division has many 'irons in the fire'. Check this page often for the latest on our many ongoing projects.

Current Projects:

Help Desk – SCOPE: The Help Desk makes every effort to resolve issues when they are reported. When this is not possible, we route the technology-related work request to an appropriate MIS staff member. Status – The Help Desk continues to review and make changes to operational and work request procedures as needed. Our overall goal remains to improve our level of customer service and reduce the time required to respond and successfully resolve work requests. We have made changes to the Help Desk staff rotation and reduced operational hours to better serve the needs of the reservation. This move has allowed us to maintain a higher staffing level during business hours and will lead to less customer time on hold.

Fond-du-Luth Fiber - SCOPE: An off-site data storage solution needs to be found. Status – This project is expected to be completed via the Middle Mile Project with Northeast Service Cooperative. MIS is attempting to have the installation costs included in the 2012 budgets and will update the timelines as they become available.

System Notification Project – SCOPE: MIS will identify every database and server on the Reservation to provide notification when a service, system or backup fails. Only one list will be maintained in Track It. The list will identify every database / server, name, use, LAN address, WAN address, type of backup, network location, model of server hardware, and if all required software is installed. Status – MIS is currently working on implementing system-wide notifications.

Northeast Service Cooperative (NESC) Middle Mile Project SCOPE: USDA award to fund the Northeast Services Cooperative 's Northeast Middle Mile Fiber Project which will extend fiber and other broadband technologies to critical service and under/unserved areas in northeast Minnesota. Status - The recently updated timeline from NESC predicts that Fond-du-Luth Casino and CAIR will go live in March 2012. Black Bear Casino fiber is on the 2012 schedule.

Archiving SCOPE: To organize, preserve, and provide secure access to information and materials by archiving and encrypting documents. Status -

Disaster Recovery and Back up Plans – SCOPE: To document a Reservation-wide plan. Status – Plans are in the development stage.

MICROS Upgrade SCOPE: To upgrade Micros hardware and software at the Black Bear and Fond-du-Luth Casinos. Status – The Black Bear portion of the Micros upgrade is complete. Fond-du-Luth Casino has scheduled the EZ Pour installation to begin Monday, January 9, 2012 with completion on Thursday, January 12, 2012. The Micros migration to the new servers is scheduled for the same week.

Kronos Security SCOPE: To review and revise Kronos security at the Black Bear and Fond-du-Luth Casinos. Status – The Managers at both the Black Bear and Fond-du-Luth Casinos are now trained and using Kronos to approve employees’ time. Service Pack 17 will be installed in Production in January 2012.

Self-Serve Employee Information (formerly known as Unified Messaging) SCOPE: To consolidate employee information in JD Edwards, Exchange, and 911 so the employee update process is self-serve. Status – The first step, which will be complete in January 2012, is to populate the Exchange active directory with the employee numbers. The next step is to match the Exchange active directory to JD Edwards and verify the system will work with Sharepoint.

Forefront Security Anti-virus SCOPE: To upgrade to Forefront Security Anti-virus at all locations. This is a priority due to the importance of anti-virus protection. Status – There are less than 50 workstations still needing the anti-virus software upgrade. The Help Desk will manually install a Microsoft patch on those remaining workstations which will allow the anti-virus to be pushed out through Kaseya.

Human Resources ID Works SCOPE: MIS will convert Access databases to SQL databases. SQL will provide better security, audit capabilities, and allow multiple users access at the same time. Human Resources will redesign the network folder structure with assistance from MIS. Status – Visual Studio was installed on the server and the application was installed on the ID works machine. The application will be installed on the desktops of the users in Compliance in January 2012.

Fond-du-Luth IP Based Slot Infrastructure Upgrade SCOPE: To provide Ethernet connection to all gaming machines as part of the Oasis upgrade. This configuration will provide a 4GB data pipeline with failover protection in the event of fiber-optic cable or transceiver malfunctions. This configuration will also provide IP based connectivity with the slot banks and machines while supplying increased network bandwidth for the Oasis software upgrade and Speed-Media implementation. Status - The infrastructure hardware has been installed. The network staff will create a schedule for placing switches and go live.

Fleet Management Software SCOPE: To provide a management system, that integrates with JD Edwards, to track vehicles, equipment, and maintenance. Status - Four of the seven software packages were selected for vendor demonstrations. Two software demonstrations have been held. The third demonstration will be scheduled after the first of the year (2012).

Reservation-wide Firewalls SCOPE: To replace aging and unsupported firewall hardware. Status -
The RBC approved the purchase of the firewalls, the documentation has been signed, and we have the fully executed contract. The network staff will be trained on the use of the hardware and then the installation will be scheduled.

Reserve Interactive Banquet / Event Center Software SCOPE: To implement Reserve Interactive Banquet / Event Center software at the Black Bear Casino. Status – A meeting was held with Event Center and MIS Network staff on Wednesday, November 23, 2011. MIS reviewed the specs and no issues were noted with the software selected. Event Center staff will notify MIS when the installation date is known and MIS staff will be available during that time.

HUMAN SERVICES’ PROJECTS:
St. Luke’s Laboratory Outreach Project SCOPE: FDL would begin sending laboratory specimens to St. Luke’s Laboratory Outreach Program which provides laboratory services to local hospitals and clinics. Status – The VLAN is physically connected to the firewall, tested, and found to be working. The next conference call will include NextGen, Iatric, and St. Lukes’ and will focus on loading the compendium.

Novarad Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) Implementation SCOPE: To Implement a PACS system for the Min No Aya Win and CAIR Radiology Clinics. Status – The RBC has approved the purchase of the Novarad PACS system and the documentation has been signed and submitted to the vendor. The hardware delivery date is February 6, 2012. The tentative installation date is February 15, 2012. The Novarad and NXC installation, training, and go live should take about one week.

ScriptPro SCOPE: To transfer QS/1 pharmacy data to ScriptPro and implement the ScriptPro Pharmacy Management System Software/Hardware system in January 2012. Status – A new Main Equipment Room (MER) will be constructed at CAIR to provide space for the telecommunication and network hardware for the ScriptPro installation. Additional racks, wiring, cabling, module(s), switch(s), etc., will need to be purchased to accommodate the ScriptPro hardware at CAIR.

Meaningful Use Project Phase 1 (2011 to 2012) Meaningful Use means providers must show they are using certified electronic health record (EHR) technology in ways that can be measured significantly in quality and in quantity. Those professionals who demonstrate the Meaningful Use of the EHR qualify for federal incentive funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
ARRA specifies three main components of Meaningful Use: 1) the use of a certified EHR in a meaningful manner, such as e-prescribing, 2) the use of certified EHR technology for electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of health care, and 3) the use of certified EHR technology to submit clinical quality and other measures. The criteria for Meaningful Use will be staged in three phases over the course of the next five years. (Above definitions taken from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) web site.) SCOPE: Phase I: set the baseline for electronic data capture and information sharing. Status - NextGen's Report Catalog, MU report set, and Quality Measures are being reviewed. NextGen’s New Medication Module (part of the 5.6 upgrade), cutover, and use of new features that could provide Pharmacy routing, is being reviewed.