Klickitat County Behavioral Health is Building a Scalable Foundation for the Future with Arize EHR

KCBH serves a close-knit population spread across a large rural county, with some clients living an hour or more from the agency’s main office. The team needs technology that helps staff work efficiently, stay organized, and coordinate care across multiple programs.

The agency’s previous electronic health record (EHR) worked well for small practices but couldn’t keep up with the organization’s growing programs and operational needs. One of the biggest challenges was managing multiple service lines within a single system. The previous EHR lacked the ability to separate programs, apply more granular security controls, and protect sensitive client information. Behavioral Health Manager Lacey Villamar describes Klickitat County as a small community where “everybody knows everybody,” making it increasingly important that staff only have access to the information they need.

The previous system also created administrative burdens. Reporting was largely completed by hand, making it difficult to regularly track program activity or quickly access operational data. Documentation presented another challenge, particularly for crisis services. Crisis staff were required to manually complete a 14-page demographic form for each client before uploading it into the EHR. The process added unnecessary manual steps and required staff to manage information across multiple systems instead of documenting directly within the client record.

KCBH chose Cantata’s Arize EHR to replace its small-practice EHR with a more robust platform that could better support multiple behavioral health programs, improve operational visibility, and strengthen privacy controls. Built to grow alongside the organization, Arize also provides the flexibility and scalability KCBH needs to support future expansion.

Key capabilities for KCBH include:

• Centralized client records, documentation, and information make it easier for staff to stay organized, quickly find what they need, and manage everything in one place.
• Dashboards and built-in reporting give managers quick access to important data.
• Configurable assessments and forms better align with KCBH’s workflows.
• Role-based security allows the agency to control who can view and manage information, which helps protect sensitive client information.
• Unique client IDs make it easier to manage records and distinguish between clients without relying on social security numbers.
• An intuitive user experience helps staff quickly navigate client records and complete everyday tasks like documentation, progress notes, and billing.
• Native telehealth and client engagement tools help KCBH serve clients who live far from the main office or face transportation and financial barriers to getting there.

“Tracking, organization, and visibility are big wins for us. We can see how many clients we’re serving each month, which programs they’re using, and the financial information we need. That’s something we just didn’t get from our old system,” Lacey said.

Cantata’s hands-on approach to implementation was equally important to KCBH’s success. “Our implementation team was knowledgeable, available, and supportive when I needed it,” Lacey said. “A smooth implementation really sets the stage for how an organization feels about the system going forward, and Cantata did a great job.”

Building on that strong foundation, Lacey has been able to confidently take ownership of Arize. She says knowing who to contact for assistance, along with access to the Help Center, has empowered her to focus on optimizing the system. She has also created an internal onboarding guide and is developing a user administrator manual to standardize training across the organization and help future employees get up to speed.

Since going live, KCBH has seen meaningful improvements in organization, documentation, reporting, and day-to-day operations.

Managing Information in One Place

“Arize saves a lot of time by eliminating the need to comb through records,” Lacey said.

Managers have immediate visibility into staff activity, active clients, outstanding documentation, and program participation through customizable dashboards. The information they need is readily available, helping them spend less time searching and more time supporting their teams.

Saving Time with Simplified Documentation Workflows

Crisis staff now enter demographic information directly into Arize instead of completing a lengthy Word document and uploading it afterward, saving approximately 30 minutes to one hour for each crisis intake by reducing manual steps. Progress notes and other clinical documentation have also become easier to complete within a single system.

Increasing Visibility with Accessible Reports

Reporting has become significantly faster and more flexible with Arize. Instead of relying on manual processes and limited reporting options, KCBH can quickly generate reports using data already captured within the system to track monthly client volumes, monitor program utilization, and better understand how services are being delivered across programs.

Strengthening Client Privacy

Arize allows the organization to separate access between programs. For a rural community where staff may personally know many of the people they serve, this additional level of security provides an important safeguard for sensitive behavioral health information.

Improving the Client Experience

Organized records and centralized demographic information make it easier for staff to track records requests and quickly access appropriate documentation. This gives KCBH greater confidence that the right information can be located, filtered, and shared when needed, even without a dedicated medical records department.

KCBH implemented Arize to replace an EHR that could no longer support a growing, multi-program behavioral health organization. Since go-live, the agency has improved security, simplified documentation, centralized reporting, and given staff better visibility into clients, programs, and operational performance. With configurable workflows, responsive support, and a platform designed to scale, KCBH now has the technology foundation to support both today’s services and tomorrow’s growth.