Erie Family Health Center

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Erie is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Golden Toothbrush Awards, being held on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at The Four Seasons Chicago! This year Erie is thrilled to announce a change in the award process… instead of just one award to honor a leader in community oral health there will be three awards presented on the day of the luncheon: Organization, Individual and Student.

Do you know a dentist helping uninsured people in your community? Or a student volunteering at a school to help kids learn how to brush their teeth correctly? Or an organization making a difference to help those without health care? If you do, nominate them for one of the 2011 Golden Toothbrush Awards to honor them for their commitment to improving the quality of life in our Chicago communities.

To learn more about the process and submit your nomination, fill out the Nomination Form by clicking here!

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Erie Family Health Center was named one of the Top 100 Workplaces by the Chicago Tribune! Erie staff members and board chair Brian Marsella attended an event hosted by the Tribune on Tuesday, November 9 at the Chase Auditorium to be recognized for this honor. The group also have the opportunity to meet and speak with Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz.

Watch a special video message from Erie’s President and CEO Dr. Lee Francis or read our company profile online! Be sure to pick up your copy of the Chicago Tribune today for a special feature magazine!

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It is pretty much an October ritual with Chicagoans: with the first gust of cold air, which inevitably comes two days after a 90 degree-day, we all start dreaming of when winter will end. But don’t feel too down, because there is a lot to keep your mind off of the weather here at Erie Family Health Center!

Erie held its first ever health fair at Erie Helping Hands this month. Check out the details and pictures below, and we hope you will join us next year! Be sure to take a look at Who’s Who @ Erie to read about Lynnette Suarez’s trip to Washington D.C. and the award that came back with her! And don’t forget to Think Pink this October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Read more below about prevention in and out of the exam room in Erie Health Tips.

Want an excuse to get out and about the city? Be sure to save the date for Erie’s upcoming event, Salud and the City, being held Thursday, February 24, 2011 at LaSalle Power Company! Join Erie to help make Chicago healthier. Check out the exclusive video here! Tickets go on sale next month!

Still can’t get enough of Erie? Be sure to follow our blog, Beats Per Minute, for the latest happenings, events and news at Erie and in our community. All this and more can be found in October 2010 E-Spotlight!

At Erie Family Health Center, our health care practices go above and beyond the standard.  As we provide each individual patient with the quality care they deserve, we also look beyond the symptoms and try to find new and innovative ways to address each patient’s health care concerns and needs.  Each and every day is another opportunity for Erie to discover new and better ways to care for all of its patients.

Lynette Suarez is one Erie provider that fully understands the importance of looking outside the box for other methods of treatment.  Lynette is a Behavioral Therapist who devotes her time counseling Erie’s HIV/AIDS patients in the Lending Hands for Life Program, located at Erie Humboldt Park Health Center.  Since coming to Erie, Lynette began employing a technique called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) into her practice.  This technique is utilized as a different approach to treating the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Lynette has used this approach as an alternative method to care for her patients, many of whom are suffering from symptoms of PTSD.

EMDR is an information processing therapy that gives the brain the opportunity to reprocess a negative experience. Traumatic events can become locked in the brain with the original thoughts, smells, sounds and visuals.  EMDR allows patients to replace old, negative memories that were created at the time of the event with a new and more adaptive perception that helps to change the way the experience affects the patient. “The HIV diagnosis in itself can be traumatic and this technique has been useful in diminishing the negative feelings and thoughts affiliated with the diagnosis, allowing the patient to move forward in their lives without the thought of HIV constantly being at the forefront,” says Lynette.

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Today Erie Family Health Center was honored to receive the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence! This prestigious award was given by the Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management at North Park University, in partnership with ShoreBank. This award recognizes and celebrates Chicago area nonprofit organizations that exemplify extraordinary managerial excellence. Erie was specifically recognized for our strong internal processes, including our commitment to evaluation and developing talent from within our organization, as well as our strong  partnerships with other agencies and community organizations.

We are thrilled to be recognized for our commitment to excellence in management! To learn more about why Erie was chosen for this award, check out the award announcement video:

2010 Alford-Axelson Award Winner from Erie Family Health Center on Vimeo.

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Erie Announces Golden Toothbrush  Award Finalists! With the dedication of the Selection Committee, Erie is proud to announce the three finalists for the 2010 Golden Toothbrush Award: Dr. Reshma Dhake,  Illinois Children’s HealthCare Foundation and Dr. Jason Grinter!

Reshma Dhake, DDS graduated from the University of  Illinois at Chicago School of Dentistry. After graduation, Dr. Dhake functioned  as the community clinic preceptor at Northwest Community Health Center. She  shows by example the importance of access to care for everyone through her  patient advocacy efforts. She is a member of the Chicago Dental Society,  Illinois State Dental Society and American Dental Association. Click here to read more about  Dr. Dhake

Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) has a  single vision: to ensure that every child in Illinois has the opportunity to  grow up healthy. Working through grantee partners across the state, the  Foundation focuses its grant making on identifying and funding solutions to the  barriers that prevent children from accessing the ongoing health care they need. Click here to read  more about ILCHF

Jason Grinter, DDS has been helping his community for over  five years at Milestone Dental Clinic and is now at Illinois Masonic Hospital,  where he completed his residency. He graduated from the University at  Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Grinter says he will not rest until every  special needs patient in Illinois has access to the dental care they deserve. Click here to read more about  Dr. Grinter

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On Thursday, March 18, 2010 Erie Family Health Center was honored at the Lumity Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel. Erie is honored to have received the 2010 Not for Profit Technology Leadership Award.

The Lumity Technology Leadership Award, presented by Accenture, recognizes innovative uses of technology in the nonprofit sector. Projects submitted had to exemplify the ways in which creative application of technology produces measurable, sustainable impact in the community. There were 22 organizations submitted for this honor and 13 judges. The judging of the final four organizations took place Friday, March 5^th.

Left-to-right: James Bowler, Lumity Board Member; Kara Kennedy, Executive Director, Lumity; Lee Francis, MD, MPH—President and CEO, Erie Family Health Center; Kate Sanserino—Manager, Quality Improvement, Erie Family Health Center; Neil Gissler, North America Technology Managing Director, Accenture

Erie Family Health Center submitted the Electronic Health Records System (EHRS) Project, a multi-year technology project through which Erie implemented electronic medical records at all 9 of its sites. In 2002, Erie’s Board of Directors decided that electronic health records would help achieve the organization’s goal of providing the highest quality of care to underserved populations. Therefore, the EHRS Project was written into the organization’s strategic plan and business plan. Eight years later, in January 2010, Erie proudly completed the project a year ahead of schedule. Erie was specifically recognized for its innovative use of health outcome measures to improve patient care. (more…)