NC DHHS: Employee Newsletter

Departmental Website to be Overhauled

DHHS has a vast presence on the Internet. Tens of thousands of web pages inform tens of thousands of readers each month on all subjects, from adoption to West Nile Virus, from child care to long-term care. The department is embarking on a project to redesign the site to make this information easier to find, searchable and translated into Spanish.

“I’m convinced that the information we have on our websites is beyond compare in state government. Our site is detailed and informative, and we can be very proud of it. The problem is that we put the public through so much as they try to navigate through the site with its 90-plus home pages,” said Linda Povlich, DHHS Senior Advisor, who is overseeing the project.

“With the redesign, I want us to dream big, for better overall design, usability and functionality. I’d like us to stand out as providing excellent service to all of the people who rely on us.”

The new site will be organized into four portals, one each for residents, researchers, state and local government, and providers. Information for residents will be written at a 6th grade level and will focus on the services. Information for researchers will include all of our statistics and publications. The provider portal will be for all of those we regulate or license or contract with. The government portal will include information for DHHS employees, plus information for local agencies, such as forms and manuals.

Utility Links: The new website will have several options for navigating the site that will appear on all pages. Called "utility links," users will be able to count on alternative ways to find information.

The site will be searchable, and all information for residents will be translated into Spanish. Other advantages of the website redesign will be:

Better customer service

Reliability of information and ease of use

Options for navigation that are uniform across the website

High degree of accessibility for all kinds of users and platforms

Users won’t need to know how DHHS is organized in order to find information

Lois Nilsen of Public Affairs is the project manager for the redesign. “Six content teams with staff from across the department are beginning to meet, and they’ve got a huge task in front of them. They’ll oversee the creation of all of the content about services for North Carolina residents, making information as easy to find as possible. We’re a confusing department, so that’s no small task!”

Breadcrumb Trail: The new website will have a "breadcrumb trail" which will tell users exactly where they are in the website and allow them to jump back to previous pages easily.

DIRM will be instrumental in bringing the project to fruition. Director Karen Tomczak has appointed Maggie Nasso to be the DIRM project manager.

“We’re going to create a clean, searchable, highly professional site, something we can all be proud of,” said Tomczak. “Maggie will work with Lois and the Web Team to design and develop a site with much more functionality than we currently have, bringing our web presence into the 21st century.”

Last Modified: November 3, 2005

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	The October 2005 newsletter, print version Use this version to print and distribute the newsletter. It is in Adobe Acrobat. If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, download it for free. Past Issues
	The October 2005 issue, online version.
	Department Website to be Overhauled: DHHS has a vast presence on the Internet. Tens of thousands of web pages inform tens of thousands of readers each month on all subjects, from adoption to West Nile Virus, from child care to long-term care. The department is embarking on a project to redesign the site to make this information easier to find, searchable and translated into Spanish.	NC SMAT II teams provide critical medical care to stricken area DHHS Steering Committee Looks for Future Leaders ¡Salud y Saludos! Reed leads National Organization Protect yourself from the flu Central Region Hospital, Latest Photos
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	Departmental Website to be Overhauled DHHS has a vast presence on the Internet. Tens of thousands of web pages inform tens of thousands of readers each month on all subjects, from adoption to West Nile Virus, from child care to long-term care. The department is embarking on a project to redesign the site to make this information easier to find, searchable and translated into Spanish. “I’m convinced that the information we have on our websites is beyond compare in state government. Our site is detailed and informative, and we can be very proud of it. The problem is that we put the public through so much as they try to navigate through the site with its 90-plus home pages,” said Linda Povlich, DHHS Senior Advisor, who is overseeing the project. “With the redesign, I want us to dream big, for better overall design, usability and functionality. I’d like us to stand out as providing excellent service to all of the people who rely on us.” The new site will be organized into four portals, one each for residents, researchers, state and local government, and providers. Information for residents will be written at a 6th grade level and will focus on the services. Information for researchers will include all of our statistics and publications. The provider portal will be for all of those we regulate or license or contract with. The government portal will include information for DHHS employees, plus information for local agencies, such as forms and manuals. Utility Links: The new website will have several options for navigating the site that will appear on all pages. Called "utility links," users will be able to count on alternative ways to find information. The site will be searchable, and all information for residents will be translated into Spanish. Other advantages of the website redesign will be: Better customer service Reliability of information and ease of use Options for navigation that are uniform across the website High degree of accessibility for all kinds of users and platforms Users won’t need to know how DHHS is organized in order to find information Lois Nilsen of Public Affairs is the project manager for the redesign. “Six content teams with staff from across the department are beginning to meet, and they’ve got a huge task in front of them. They’ll oversee the creation of all of the content about services for North Carolina residents, making information as easy to find as possible. We’re a confusing department, so that’s no small task!” Breadcrumb Trail: The new website will have a "breadcrumb trail" which will tell users exactly where they are in the website and allow them to jump back to previous pages easily. DIRM will be instrumental in bringing the project to fruition. Director Karen Tomczak has appointed Maggie Nasso to be the DIRM project manager. “We’re going to create a clean, searchable, highly professional site, something we can all be proud of,” said Tomczak. “Maggie will work with Lois and the Web Team to design and develop a site with much more functionality than we currently have, bringing our web presence into the 21st century.”

	Last Modified: November 3, 2005

The October 2005 newsletter, print version

Past Issues

The October 2005 issue, online version.

Departmental Website to be Overhauled