Erie Family Health Center

Erie Family Health Center’s outreach services bring Erie’s mission into the community

If you want to witness some of the exceptional services Erie Family Health Center provides, all you have to do is take a seat in  an Erie waiting room.  You’ll see patients moving in and out, taking with them a reassurance they’ve found a place that truly cares about their health.  If you wander throughout the clinic, you’ll see case managers working diligently alongside patients, educators teaching about the importance of exercise and healthy eating, providers listening to patients’ stories, and support groups learning and offering guidance to one another.

The amazing thing about Erie is that these wonderful services extend beyond the Erie walls. Outreach workers travel throughout Chicago communities to schools and social service agencies, educating and informing Chicagoans about a variety of health issues. By informing others on topics such as oral health, HIV/AIDS, depression, wellness and many others, these outreach workers not only teach participants about how to improve their health, but also spread the word on how Erie Family Health Center can help guide them to a healthier life.

Lauren Ranalli MPH, Manager of Community Programs, sees Erie’s outreach program as a vital part of bringing the message of health into Chicago communities.  “Outreach presentations are a great opportunity for Erie to engage with community members,” says Lauren. “They are a way for us to tell Chicago residents about the comprehensive programs and services offered at Erie.”

Outreach services also offer audiences the chance to focus on a particular topic or facet of their health. Whether it’s demonstrating the proper way to exercise, giving a cooking lesson, or using models to demonstrate the pathways of medication, presentations take a new spin on standard health lessons. “Participants at our outreach presentations can increase their knowledge on a new health topic, such as how to better manage their diabetes or protect themselves from contracting HIV.  They can also gain a new skill, such as how to talk to their child about sexual health or how to read a food nutrition label,” says Lauren.

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A Partnership between Loyola Chicago School of Law and

Erie Family Health Center

Erie Family Health Center aims to provide affordable, accessible, high quality care – care that sometimes extends beyond health care. We understand that every aspect of a person’s life can affect their overall health. At Erie, our mission extends beyond caring for just the patient’s physical well-being.

Erie recognizes that as a community health center, we have a unique opportunity in the lives of our patients. We listen to their frustrations, hold their hands through pain, and work with them to find solutions to the challenges they face. Erie Family Health Center is excited to announce a program that will provide another opportunity to be an additional pillar of support for all patients. Erie has recently partnered with the Health Justice Project at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. The Health Justice Project is a medical-legal partnership clinic in which Juris Doctorate (JD) students train community health care providers of low-income individuals and families and help them identify social and legal issues that negatively impact the health of their patients. Under this partnership, Erie staff will be able to identify social and legal issues that contribute to the health conditions of Erie patients. Once identified, Erie providers will be able to refer patients to JD students or pro bono attorneys participating in the Health Justice Project. Patients will then be able to receive brief advice, representation and resolution.

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As National Public Health Week draws to a close, Beats Per Minute wants to recognize a few individuals whose accomplishments have effectively shaped the field of public health as we know it today. There are three historic figures who have inspired generations of public health leaders:

Sara Josephine Baker (1873-1945)

Sara Josephine Baker’s contributions to public health cannot be summarized with one story or study. She graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary in 1898 and served as Assistant Commissioner of Health in New York by 1907. There she focused on midwife training, basic hygiene, health education and the reduction of infant mortality. Baker supplied pasteurized milk for indigent families, developed a program to teach young girls basic infant care, allowing them to care for their siblings while their mothers worked, and created a school health program that was replicated across the country. When Baker retired in 1923, New York City had the lowest infant mortality rate of any metropolitan U.S. city. Baker’s efforts were instrumental in linking economic and educational factors to medical care and poor health outcomes. Her work at New York City’s Bureau of Child Hygiene served as a model for the United States Children’s Bureau.

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Earlier this week, Beats Per Minute took you into the world of a very important public health issue: health disparities in underserved communities. Cancer, diabetes and oral health – all of these issues hit very close to home for the communities served by Erie Family Health Center. For Erie, creating a healthier America begins at the community level, where care and prevention interventions are specifically designed to meet the needs of our patients and community members. Today, in honor of National Public Health Week, Beats Per Minute would like to give you the inside scoop on those Erie programs designed to reduce and eliminate health disparities experienced in our community.

Cancer

For the patients in Erie’s communities, early screening for breast and cervical cancer can be problematic, especially for those who are underinsured or uninsured and without the funds to pay for the procedures. Erie has a long-standing commitment to educating women on the importance of getting screened and working to provide better access for screening, either through Erie or external referrals. In early 2008, Erie became a lead agency for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP). Through this program, Erie can provide either through our facilities or outside agencies free screening for breast and cervical cancers to women who qualify for the program. In the first half of this fiscal year alone, Erie enrolled nearly 400 women in the IBCCP program and provided culturally competent education about the importance of screening to nearly 12,000 people.

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With all the buzz about health care reform, the curious are asking: What does the new law mean for community health centers like Erie?  Some even wonder if the need for community health centers will vanish. In honor of National Public Health Week, Beats Per Minute is breaking down the ins and outs of health care reform and what it will mean for community health centers around the country.

Millions more to seek primary care by 2014

With the ink of President Obama’s signature barely dry on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a transformation is about to happen over the next decade.  For the first time in our country’s history, there will be a major effort to make health insurance available to almost all Americans – nearly 32 million will be added to the health insurance rolls. 

Most community health centers like Erie care for high volumes of patients without insurance (34% at Erie) or covered by Medicaid (62% at Erie). Medicaid is the federal-state partnership to provide health care coverage for those living at the federal poverty level or below.  Starting in 2014, some 16 million more people  will become eligible for Medicaid as the income limits to qualify are raised from 100% of the federal poverty level (about $22,000 per year for a family of 4) to 133% of the federal poverty level (about $30,000 per year for a family of 4). 

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The American Public Health Association has designated this week National Public Health Week. Since 1995, the United States has used this week to highlight the importance of public health and the need for improved health in our country. This year’s theme is ‘A Healthier America: One Community at a Time.’  This theme resonates with community-based health organizations, like Erie Family Health Center. For Erie, creating a healthier America begins at the community level, where care and prevention can be designed specifically for the needs of the local community.

For Erie and other public health advocates around the country, one of the most important health issues facing America today are the  health disparities that exist in medically underserved communities. That means that certain groups of people in our country—like those with lower incomes—experience health problems at greater rates than the general population.  At Beats Per Minute, we would like to highlight a few of the health disparities that hit home in the communities that Erie serves.

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