Erie Family Health Center

Erie Beats

Read more about Erie’s Oral Health Program in the August editions of the American Dental Association and National Network for Oral Health Access!

American Dental Association (ADA) page 2

Beats this week: 

1) Before you know it the kids are going to be back in school and you will be thinking: ‘where did the summer go?’ But before sending the kiddies off to school you should be sure to get them their required school physicals and vaccinations in honor of National Immunization Awareness Month, which is celebrated in August!  

2) This week an incredibly insightful study was released on the social and economic impact of long-term obesity. The study, which used national data for 5,000 high school students over two decades, found that those individuals that had been overweight in high school and continued at that weight were less likely to advance their education and more likely to live at lower income levels than their classmates who were a healthier weight at age 18.

3) Well blogosphere, it just got a little bit easier to access dental care in the state of Illinois. In the last few months Governor Quinn has signed three bills making dental care more accessible; one of the most recent bills allows 10-day permits to out of state dentists that wish to cross the border to volunteer at dental clinics. The Chicago Dental Society’s blog, Open Wide, has a great rundown of the bills here.

4) As the city of Chicago heats up, so has the violence throughout the city. Painting a gloomy picture, overall crime is down in the city but murder rates are up. Just this past week, nine people were shot while walking near a bus terminal on Chicago’s south side.

5) Good news for women who have previously had c-sections: if you have another child you may not be required to have another c-section. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released new guidelines this week that allow most women to forego having another c-section.

Erie Beats

More than 678,000 people in Chicago and Cook County, including 250,000 children, receive emergency food each year. In an effort to reduce hunger in their own community, Henson Elementary School, located in North Lawndale, is working to bring nutritious food options to neighborhood families. Teaming up with the staff of Erie Henson School-Based Health Center and the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the school hosts a program called Healthy Kids Distribution, providing healthy food choices to the families of students in need.“This program aligns perfectly with Erie’s mission to increase access to resources that shouldn’t be considered privileges, but as human rights in an effort to lead a healthy life” says Tiosha Goss, Erie’s Coordinator for School Based and Oral Health Programs. “Furthermore, it supports Erie’s mission to provide resources to those in need.”

Tiosha assists with program outreach and supports the program’s food pantry volunteers during days of food distribution. Working with community agencies, Henson parents, AmeriCorps volunteers, Erie support staff, and Chicago Public School staff, she helps ensure the program’s goals stay at the forefront of their operations. The program offers family-focused services, encourages healthy eating and living, and aims to provide a minimum of 50 families with healthy foods at no cost to them. “There are many things that I enjoy about working with the program,” Tiosha says. “Getting to know the families that come to the distributions and playing an integral role in providing an invaluable resource to the community.”

Indeed an invaluable resource to the residents of North Lawndale, the program held its first distribution in March of this year following a needs assessment that found access to food in the community scarce. Already central to the community’s youth and their families, the school agreed to take on the important role of housing a permanent community food pantry. Every two weeks a delivery of assorted food items from the Greater Chicago Food Depository reaches the school’s team of six to twelve volunteers. These volunteers not only prepare the food pantry for operation, but also actively assist customers with their shopping and clean up after distribution. Fresh produce, grains such as pasta and rice and proteins like peanut butter and beans are set up to resemble a grocery store, making it easier for customers to select food items based upon their preference and need.  Item quantity limits are set by the Food Depository, who covers the cost of the food needed to run the program for the first year.

“Currently, we only serve Henson families. We are seeking to open distribution up to the North Lawndale community as a whole,” Tiosha says. In further efforts to involve the community and reduce hunger, Erie Henson School-Based Health Center, located within the school, hopes to start a new program to empower North Lawndale youth to give back to their community. Called the Healthy Garden Initiative, Erie would give a group of Henson students the tools to start a community garden and grow vegetables such as peppers, lettuce, and carrots. Parents of the students will be invited to participate and the proposed garden will donate any surplus vegetables to the Healthy Kids Distribution food pantry.

“Having a gardening program would provide a hands-on opportunity for students and teachers to really drive home the importance of healthy eating, a major goal of the food pantry,” says Tiosha. “And the gardening program could be used as a tool to further engage parents and educate them on a cost-effective way to provide healthy eating options for their family.”

Erie Beats

Good afternoon,

Today Erie Family Health Center has a real challenge for you. The underinsured and uninsured of Chicago have urgently requested your service.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to double the impact of your support to Erie Family Health Center. An anonymous funder will match your donation to Erie, dollar for dollar!

Join forces with Erie to impact the health and happiness of our patients and community. Donate now to make a difference in the lives of patients like:

PATIENT: Maria, pregnant
ISSUE: Gum disease
SOLUTION: Erie Dental Health Center

PATIENT: Juan, diabetic
ISSUE: Blurred vision
SOLUTION: Erie’s Optometry Services

PATIENT: Carolina, breast cancer survivor
ISSUE: Needed a mammogram and care
SOLUTION: Erie’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program

Erie needs YOU to achieve Mission:Possible! This email will not self-destruct, but the opportunity to double your gift won’t last long. Make your gift count twice today.

Good luck!

Erie Beats

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

Beats this week:

1) An estimated15,000 people converged on the Capitol today in Springfield to show support for Governor Quinn’s proposed tax increase. If the crowd estimates are correct, this would be the largest Capitol protest since the Equal Rights Amendment protests over 25 years ago.  The rally, which is being called ‘Save Our State,’ seeks to create a responsible budget by increasing tax revenue rather than cutting services.

2) The Food and Drug Administration announced a plan to reduce the amount of salt that is consumed by Americans. The FDA will begin by requesting a voluntary reduction in sodium levels from the food industry and then possibly creating a mandate later down the line.

3) This week President Obama handed down an order to his Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, to begin drafting rules that would require hospitals receiving Medicaid and Medicare payments to allow all patients to designate what individuals can visit them and consult with them on medical decisions. This move is being hailed as a victory for same sex couples who often experience challenges when it comes to consulting with their partner on medical decisions.

4) Earlier this week, Michelle Obama made a stop at a community farm in California on her way back from her first solo trip abroad. The tour at the New Roots Community Farm was meant to highlight her new childhood obesity prevention campaign, Let’s Move! 

5) Three large insurance companies – UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint and Humana – all took steps this week to begin implementing health care reform legislation months ahead of time. These three insurance companies are going to allow adults under age 26 to be covered under their parent’s insurance until September 23, when they are guaranteed coverage under health care reform legislation. This decision comes at an ideal time for students graduating this Spring who are without job placements.

Erie Beats

Erie Family Health Center is proud to have UnitedHealthcare as the Title Event Sponsor for the 2010 Golden Toothbrush Awards being held on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at the InterContinental Chicago Hotel. This event will focus on the importance of oral health and its direct impact on a person’s overall health. Chicagoans without health insurance lack access to dental care; and as a result, their overall health suffers. This is particularly challenging for low-income, minority Chicagoans. In fact, 70% of individuals in Illinois who have not seen a dentist were Hispanic or African-American.

By pledging to be the Title Event Sponsor, UnitedHealthcare has shown its dedication to improving the health care system and helping residents in Chicago’s Latino communities. UnitedHealthcare strives to improve the quality and effectiveness of health care, enhance access to health benefits and create products to make health care more affordable. 

UnitedHealthcare delivers innovative products and services to approximately 70 million Americans. Its nationwide network includes 626,000 physicians and health care professionals, 80,000 dentists and 5,035 hospitals.

Erie would also like to thank the following sponsors:

Awards Ceremony Sponsor: Aon
Patron Sponsor: Leal Associates
Friend Sponsors: Walgreens, Associated Bank, Delta Dental, MetLife and Northern Trust
Honoree Sponsors: Radio Flyer and ShoreBank

Check out the event preview video.
Become an event sponsor.

Beats this week:

1) Months ago, Beats Per Minute wrote about how health care reform would strain the already existing primary care shortage in the United States. This week, the Associated Press also discussed the issue.

2) Modern Healthcare featured the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals, which included Erie’s long-standing partner, Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Other Chicago hospitals recognized include Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and Rush University Medical Center.

3) While Republicans vowed that they would repeal health care reform, it seems that most have backed off from that sentiment over concerns that it might negatively impact the GOP in the November elections.

4) What’s better than eating chocolate for fun? Eating chocolate because it might reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke! German researchers concluded this week that individuals who consumed around six grams of chocolate a day had a 39 percent lower risk of either a heart attack or stroke. The researchers stated, though, that it was too early to start making recommendations for individuals to consume daily amounts of chocolate.

5) H1N1 is still going strong in some parts of the country. This week, the CDC and Surgeon General reported that the Southeast, mainly Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, are experiencing an uptick in cases of H1N1.

Erie Beats

Erie Family Health Center is proud to announce the 2010 Golden Toothbrush Award Luncheon Keynote Speaker! June Thomas is the foreign editor of Slate, a daily Web magazine known for its analysis and commentary on news, politics and culture. Before joining the Slate in 1997, June  was the editor and foreign rights manager at Seal Press and managing editor of Women in Translation, a publishing company specializing in women’s writing from around the world. She was born and raised in Manchester, England.

June authored the American Way of Dentistry, a widely acclaimed seven part series in Slate, which provides an in-depth analysis of the state of oral health care in the United States. The seven topics covered in the series include:

The Story of My Teeth

The Disappearing Dentist

The Oral Cost Spiral

How Dentists Think

Why Poor Folks are Short on Teeth

Inside the Dental Safety Net

Healthy Teeth for All

Click here to read this series. You can also follow the series on Facebook.

Beats this week:

1) This week has been a busy week for health care reform. On Sunday, the House passed health care reform and sent the bill to President Obama’s desk. On Tuesday, the President signed the bill, which will provide up to 32 million individuals with health insurance.

2) The health care reform bill is over 2,400 pages and contains a few lesser known provisions. Some highlights include: chain restaurants and vending machines will have to post nutritional information and companies with at least 50 employees will have to set aside “reasonable” break times for nursing mothers and create private spaces for breastfeeding. To read more about the bill, check out Beats Per Minutes post this week.

3) It was reported this week that Chicago Public School officials are moving to revamp the school lunch program. Starting in June, schools will eliminate or reduce the availability of unhealthy food options, such as nachos, doughnuts and Pop-Tarts.

4) The Illinois Supreme Court handed down a decision this week that was met with great disappointment for many nonprofit hospitals in the state: hospitals that are designated nonprofit must provide certain levels of charitable giving to their patients in order to maintain their nonprofit status.

5) Who are we kidding?! The only thing being talked about this week is health care reform! Let’s skip the back and forth politics, though, and check out the video of President Obama signing this historic legislation.