GBMC Cleft Lip and Palate Patient Heatmap

At nDepth Security, we believe giving back is a core part of who we are. We encourage our team members to use their skills in service of the community and to support causes that make a meaningful difference. We’re proud to recognize h00die for exemplifying this spirit of corporate volunteerism through his work supporting patients and families at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC).

Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) in Towson, MD, is known for compassionate, leading-edge care in cancer treatment, childbirth, advanced primary care, and hospice. Within GBMC, the Randolph B. Capone Cleft Lip and Palate Program supports children and adults born with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other craniofacial conditions. Its Patient & Family Advisory Council (PFAC) gives families a voice in shaping how GBMC delivers care, ensuring every patient receives the best possible experience.

PATIENT HEATMAP

The Cleft Lip and Palate Program hosts several events each year—such as their annual pizza party, summer picnic, rock climbing outings, and toddler playdates. These gatherings help families connect, allow kids to make friends who share similar experiences, and give everyone a chance to see their care team in a fun, relaxed setting.

With more than 300 families in the program, choosing where to hold events can be challenging. While Towson is centrally located, not every venue meets the needs of every group. A few years ago, the team relied on a patient location heatmap to help select event sites—but as new families joined the program, that map quickly became outdated.

That’s when PFAC member h00die, an approved and badged GBMC volunteer, stepped in to help. Leveraging his technical expertise, he built a secure, easy-to-use tool that allows staff to generate up-to-date heatmaps—without ever sharing private data online.

The result is a single HTML file that can be used on any computer. Staff simply export a CSV of patient addresses from GBMC’s system, remove identifying information such as names, load the file into the tool, and within minutes a new heatmap is generated using Google’s mapping capabilities.

This lightweight solution not only streamlines event planning, but also supports more targeted gatherings, like toddler playdates for families in the same area. It has even helped the cleft team’s dental and orthodontic partners better understand where patients live, improving access to care across the region.

(Example heatmap shown uses synthetic data to protect patient privacy.)

We applaud h00die for using his skills to support GBMC and the families they serve. His work is a powerful example of how technical expertise, when paired with a commitment to service, can have a real and lasting impact in the community, and it reflects the values we strive to uphold every day.