Erie Family Health Center

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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Beats this week:

1) Did you know that today is Senior Health and Fitness Day? It most certainly is! The last Wednesday in May is reserved for promoting the need to help older Americans stay healthy and fit.  This year, around 100,000 older adults will participate in activities at more than 1,000 locations throughout the U.S. for the 17^th Annual Senior Health and Fitness Day.

2) A report released recently from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that only one in five children in America live within half a mile from a park. The report also reveals other alarming statistics, such as the fact that less than one in five U.S. high school students get at least an hour of physical activity a day.

3) The National Health Center for Statistics handed down some good news this week: for the second year in a row, premature birth rates have dropped. This decrease held true for all age groups and races, except for women over 40. Despite these overall decreases, large disparities still exist for minority populations.

4) The Illinois House passed an emergency budget yesterday for the state of Illinois. The budget relies mainly on the following: borrowing and currently undefined spending cuts (to be defined by Governor Quinn). It is still unclear how the state plans to pay backlogged bills. Not found in the budget are new ways to increase revenue. Stay tuned as the Springfield drama continues to unfold!

5) A recent article published in Health Affairs outlines the differences of income for a cardiologist and a primary care physician over a lifetime. The results are staggering: ‘Their calculations showed that cardiologists earn a career average of more than $5 million, compared with $2.5 million for primary care physicians.’ Perhaps this is why we have a shortage of primary care doctors?

Bonus Beat! This week we have a bonus beat!

A study conducted by the RAND Corp. found that pay for performance programs may actually have the potential to worsen health disparities. Essentially, the study claims that if physicians are paid for the medical performance of their patients then they might actually avoid providing care in areas that could potentially experience lower health status outcomes.

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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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.

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.

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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.