Press Release
For more information about Erie Family Health Center, please contact Valerie Comprelli at 312.432.7463 or vcomprelli@eriefamilyhealth.org
June 13, 2008
Erie Receives Grant to Expand Women’s Health and Pediatric Care
Illinois Representative Richard T. Bradley (D) of the 40th District successfully advocated for $200,000 supporting the expansion of women’s health and pediatric care at Erie Helping Hands Health Center, which is located in the Albany Park community of Chicago. The grant, which was awarded by the Illinois Department of Public Health, will allow Erie Helping Hands to provide comprehensive health care to an additional 556 uninsured women and children in the first year. Funding will also support the implementation of an Electronic Health Record System at the health center, which will greatly improve the quality of care patients receive.
Representative Bradley is a true community advocate. He understands that funding is desperately needed to help serve the many underinsured and uninsured residents on the city’s Northwest side. In fact, close to 30% of the population in Erie Helping Hands’ service area lacks health insurance (US Census 2000). And at Erie Helping Hands, a staggering 78% of patients are uninsured. The health center is a vital asset to the community; it serves those who would otherwise go without care.
A new patient, who was provided care because of the grant, said “I arrived in the U.S. from Ecuador eight years ago. I was six months pregnant and did not know where to go or what tests I needed. Now I’m pregnant again with my second child and as a single mother, I feel fortunate to have found Erie – they are taking better care of me, explaining every stage of my pregnancy to me in a way I can understand and making sure I get the tests I need like ultrasounds and an amniocentesis.”
Erie Helping Hands Health Center provides primary health care services, including lab services, medications and health education. Last year, Erie Helping Hands provided approximately 34,946 patient visits, serving 9,220 unduplicated patients—an increase in patient volume of almost 150% from the previous year! Patients from 111 different zip codes, including 64 suburban zip codes, are cared for at the center. Seventy-nine percent of the patients are Hispanic and 82% speak Spanish in their homes. Adults make up 71% of the patient population. Nine percent of patients are Caucasian, including Polish and Bulgarian immigrants and refugees from the countries of the former Yugoslavia.