Erie in the News
For more information about Erie Family Health Center, please contact Valerie Comprelli at 312.432.7463 or vcomprelli@eriefamilyhealth.org
The importance of primary-care – how one clinic serves Chicago’s communities
Written by: Christiana Roach
November 4, 2009
Patients today rarely see the same physician for their primary-care, particularly if they’re uninsured or covered through Medicare. It’s not a lack of physicians, it’s a lack of compensation. Specialists perform procedures (colonoscopies, surgeries, etc.) and are compensated at a rate twice that of primary-care physicians. When graduation day brings with it over $100,000 of steadily increasing debt, there may not seem much of a choice to make.
However, we need primary-care physicians. Communities need clinics and offices where they 
know they’ll be seen within a day or two, where their practitioner is a familiar face who knows their history. Without the constancy and security of these centers, people put off seeing a doctor for minor complaints, don’t go in for regular exams, and often wind up in Urgent Care or the Emergency Room. That’s why centers like Erie Family Health Center are so vital to the communities they serve. Founded in 1957 and staffed by volunteer physicians from Northwestern Hospital, Erie has grown to include 9 Chicago locations, the newest at 4745 N. Kedzie Ave. Measuring over 8,500 square feet, Erie Helping Hands is twice the size of the 
clinic it replaces next door. Designed around the needs of its patients, the facility provides 17, comfortably appointed exam rooms, state-of-the-art technology such as electronic record keeping, spacious halls and wait rooms, and a friendly staff, one willing to give up their weekend putting in the finishing touches rather than delay patient appointments. Services offered include behavioral health counseling, prenatal care, pediatric care, and health and wellness checkups. Dental care will continue to be provided next door, at the clinic’s previous location.
“This move is a validation of Erie’s commitment to providing quality care to our patients and provides a sense of pride in our center as a community project,” said Nori Santiago, Manager of Clinical Operations at Erie Helping Hands. She adds,”A dreary, dull environment can have such a depressing effect..” 
LIke other Erie Family Health Centers, Erie Helping Hands insists on continuity of care for its patients, assigning them their own health practitioner from Day 1. For example, because Erie is still affilliated with Northwestern Hospital, practitioners involved in a woman’s prenatal care are able to keep appraised of her condition when she is admitted for delivery, then see her and her child after discharge. This type of continuity provides the patient better care, helps ensure appointments are made and kept, and establishes a close relationship between patient and healthgiver. Patients are treated equally, regardless of their insurance or ability to pay. Outreach and education programs are other ways through which Erie’s staff shows its concern for the health of its community.
If you’re interested in seeking healthcare at an Erie Family Health Center, you can find one closest to you by phoning 312.666.3494 or by visiting their website: www.eriefamilyhealth.org/. Appointments are generally available within 1 to 5 days (2 days being the average) – a miracle when you consider most Medicare patients must schedule appointments weeks in advance.
To take a look at the process involved in pulling together Erie’s new center, watch the video below or go to: www.vimeo.com/6857889. It’s a nicely put together overview of how Erie Helping Hands went from design to conception.
Helping Hands Video from Erie Family Health Center on Vimeo.
If you’re interested in learning more about Erie and its mission, you can read an interview I conducted with Dr. Lee Francis, Erie Health’s President and CEO, found through this link: www.examiner.com/x-7503-Chicago-Health-Care-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Lowcost-healthcare-101-an-interview-with-Erie-Family-Health-Center.
