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.

Emily Benefer is a professor at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law as well as the Director of the Health Justice Project. Emily has seen firsthand the benefits of legal and health care partnerships, especially in community health care settings. “Social issues continue to have a devastating effect on patient health,” says Emily. “In these cases, medicine alone cannot solve health problems – especially of people who struggle with hunger and safety.” Erie Family Health Center sees cases like these every day. Children come in with severe respiratory problems caused by moldy apartments; children that will never find complete relief unless their living conditions improve. The health of many chronically ill adults will never get better unless they receive support to purchase adequate and nutritional food.

“The medical-legal partnership approach allows us to leverage health and legal resources in order to reduce health disparities and create a new standard of care for vulnerable populations,” states Emily. “In the community health care setting, the Health Justice Project can identify adverse social conditions and address them with legal remedies as a part of care.” According to Emily, finding a community health center that would be a good partner for this project was easy. “It had to be Erie,” says Emily. She cites the enthusiasm and commitment of the Erie staff to serving vulnerable populations as well as Erie’s strive to educate the next generation of stewards of family medicine as some of the reasons. “Erie has exceeded our every expectation.  Erie doctors and staff members impress and inspire us on a daily basis and Erie patients motivate us to work harder and learn more to succeed.” The Health Justice Project at Erie Family Health Center is a wonderful addition and has proven to be another tool Erie can use to treat every patient with dignity, respect and care.

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

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.

Diabetes

Erie is committed to providing all of our patients with evidence-based programs that result in the highest quality of care to our patients. As such, in January 2009, Erie piloted a group visits model of care for our diabetic patients called the Comprehensive Diabetes Control Program. This new program, which has recently been expanded to serve patients at our two largest sites, includes two main components: 1) group medical visits where patients can receive health education, engage in discussion and form peer relationships and 2) private medical visits between a diabetic patient and their provider. Through these efforts, patients are given the tools and guidance needed to manage their condition. In fact, 74% of Erie’s diabetic patients had their blood sugar under control in 2009.

Oral Health

Oral health has been and continues to be an important health issue that goes largely unnoticed by mainstream media. At Erie, though, the link between oral health and overall wellness has not gone unnoticed. Erie’s two dental centers are state-of-the-art facilities that provide oral health care to children, pregnant women, diabetics and patients living with HIV/AIDS, as well as the nuclear family members of these patients. Erie’s oral health program focuses on preventive care, such as sealants and comprehensive education about proper dental maintenance in order to create long-term oral health care status after a patient has completed their initial treatment plan. Erie’s program has been incredibly successful since its start in 2005 and was recently awarded the Oral Health Champion Award by the National Network for Oral Health Access.

Erie, like all community health centers around the nation, is working hard to reduce and eliminate the many health disparities that are found in the communities that we serve.  We hope that many have taken this week to recognize the public health efforts that work to create a healthier America, one community at a time.

Last night we sat around our television screens, anxiously waiting for an historic moment to occur and we were not disappointed. With members of the House chanting “Yes we can!” millions around our country felt relief: comprehensive health care reform had finally passed. This was a truly historical moment for the entire country and particularly for the millions of uninsured individuals who will now be afforded access to health insurance.  

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will make its way to the President’s desk on Tuesday for his signature of this momentous legislation. The Reconciliation Act of 2010 will also move to the Senate this week for approval. After both of these steps are completed, health care reform can begin to be enacted.

But what happens then? The full text of the bill is around 2,400 pages so it is doubtful that many Americans have read the bill from cover to cover (Who has that kind of time?). Look no further! Now that change has come to America, here is a summary of what changes will actually occur for everyday Americans.

In the first year of enactment

Within months of health care reform law taking effect, many of uninsured and underinsured individuals will begin to see benefits. For example, many insurance plans would be prohibited from placing lifetime spending limits on medical care and the law would prevent insurance companies from cancelling insurance plans for individuals who have fallen ill. Additionally, this law would make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to any child with pre-existing medical conditions.

Do you know a recent college graduate who does not have health insurance coverage? Health care reform law would allow these individuals to remain on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26. Finally, adults with pre-existing conditions who had previously been denied coverage would be able to buy subsidized plans within a high-risk insurance pool. And most of this will occur within the first six months of enactment!

In 2014

2014 is the magical year that the full health care reform law will be implemented. In 2014, coverage will expand even more through Medicaid and state-run exchanges. The exchanges provide a competitive online marketplace for consumers to ‘shop’ for private insurance plans. Medicaid coverage would be expanded so that more individuals can qualify for the insurance plan.   These two steps would afford nearly 32 million more Americans with health insurance.

In 2014, reform will also create greater parameters for insurance companies and individuals. For example, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying anyone coverage because of pre-existing conditions and the law would ban lifetime spending limits for medical care. Additionally, all individuals who meet certain income requirements would be mandated to have health insurance, either through private or public (Medicaid) plans. For private plans, insurance premiums would be capped based on an individual’s income. For individuals who already have employer-based health insurance that they like, very little change will occur for them.

Before the vote last night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a speech to the House of Representatives and the country in which she said what many before her have declared: ‘All politics is personal.’ Speaker Pelosi was absolutely right. For the millions of Americans who will now be provided with the health care they need and deserve, health care reform politics is incredibly personal. While this may be the first step in many towards complete health care reform, it was a momentous step taken in the journey to make ‘health care a right, not a privilege.’ Erie stands ready to be a part of this change, expanding our services to meet the needs of our patients, as well as the newly insured patients that will be coming our way.

Beats this week:

1)  Today, the Chicago Tribune covered health care reform and its potential impact on low-income individuals in Chicago. Erie Family Health Center and other community health agencies were featured in the story by Judith Graham.

2) Four community health centers in Milwaukee received $1 million from GE to increase primary care services to uninsured and underinsured individuals. This is the second city to receive GE Developing Health funding – a three-year program providing funding to health centers.

3) According to a new report, one in four Californians under the age of 65 are without health insurance.  In the last two years, the state’s number of uninsured individuals has increased by nearly 2 million. Despite these alarming statistics, California does not actually have the highest rate of uninsured but follows closely behind Texas.

4) The story of health care reform continues to unfold. Currently, the Obama administration is putting the pressure on for House Democrats to give the green light on health care. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is the most recent Democrat to ‘flip’ their vote from ‘no’ to ‘yes.’

5) Public Health Officials in Lake County (northern Illinois) have partnered with local churches to make a final push for H1N1 vaccination. Read Beats Per Minute’s coverage on why it is still important to get vaccinated this late in the flu season.