Fall 2010 Spotlight by Erie Family Health Center

fall 2010

spot light AN INSIDER’S VIEW OF ERIE FAMILY HEALTH CENTER FALL 2010

We wanted to create something special for our most loyal friends: a sort of all-access pass to what’s going on in the Erie Family Health Center world. In this issue (and future ones), we’ll give you a peek at the upcoming events and news, stories about our nine health centers, inspirations and more. I hope this behind-the-scenes look piques your interest and gives you a sense of our world.... stay tuned for more to come. Is there anything you’re dying to know about? Send us an email at news@eriefamilyhealth.org and we’ll get the scoop (or maybe feature your question in an upcoming issue....) Lee Francis President and CEO

FALL 2010 / NEWS @ ERIE

ERIE and JOINT COMMISSION ACCREDITATION After long months of preparation, dedication and good old fashion hard work, Erie Family Health Center is honored and thrilled to announce that we have been awarded the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval! This accreditation ranks Erie’s quality of care in the top ten percent in the country. Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization, seeks to continuously improve health care for the public by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Erie’s work toward Joint Commission Accreditation solidifies that Erie has and will continue to provide sound management practices in the day-to-day delivery of safe, high-quality health care. While all Erie staff helped prepare for The Joint Commission evaluation, Luz Jimenez, Vice President of Clinical Operations at Erie, led the organization’s efforts to prepare all nine health centers for the review process. “Achieving accreditation means that as a health care organization we have met the highest standards of care. In preparing for accreditation we were able to move the organization to a culture of safety and quality that permeated every area of the health center,” says Luz. WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JOINT COMMISSION? visit www.jointcommission.org

Family Erie Family Health Center is pleased to work alongside our partners Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Norwegian American Hospital, and Northwestern Hospital in a new family medicine residency program. This unique collaboration is the first of its kind in the Chicago area and one of only a few in the United States. Drawing on the abundant

RESIDENCY PROGRAM

strengths of each institution, the residency program focuses on preparing the next generation of primary care physicians to serve in an urban, safety-net health care setting. This new program was created to address the changing needs of health care in this nation as exemplified by the current national attention to the shortage of primary care physicians and access to care.

WHO’S WHO @ ERIE D Gus Souri @ Erie Dr. D Dental Health Centers, h honored with the 2010 H HMPRG Medicine A Award The hard work and dedication of Erie Family Health Center’s staff is exemplified every day through their commitment, quality of compassi care and compassion. Dr. Ghassan Souri, DDS, Vice President of Oral Health Services at Erie Family Health Center, was the recipient of 2010 Health and Medicine Policy Research Group’s Medicine Award in honor of his dedication to improving the lives of others. Dr. Souri is a board certified dentist and a diplomat of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. His background and experience aided him in his role as a leader in the launch of Erie’s Oral Health Program, which has given oral health care access to thousands of Chicagoans.

@ ERIE

The residency was enormously successful in its first recruitment year and was able to fill all eight slots with highly qualified and competitive students. Erie Humboldt Park Health Center will serve as the core training site for the program. Residents will do their primary hospital rotations at Norwegian Hospital, as well as specialty rotations at Northwestern

Memorial Hospital. There will be a total of 24 residents by year three of the program. Erie and Norwegian providers will provide clinical supervision for the residents during their training. The program gives residents the opportunity to train in a community setting at Erie with the academic support from Northwestern. Erie looks forward to this new program!

CENTER ROLL CALL @ ERIE 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 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. 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.

CHECK OUT ERIE’S BLOG: BEATS PER MINUTE

Want to learn more about Erie?

www.eriefamilyhealth.org/bpm

Always make sure to check in with Beats Per Minute for the latest breaking news in health and how it relates to Erie and the larger community!

WHO IS ERIE? WE ARE ERIE! Have you ever wondered who are the folks behind the scenes running the show at Erie Family Health Center? Well now you can meet them! Throughout the year Erie employees are putting on their favorite Erie t-shirts and getting their picture taken while at Erie, or out and about, to show their I Am Erie pride!taff

Check out the album on Facebook! www.facebook.com/eriefamilyhealth

FALL 2010 / NEW @ ERIE

WELCOME ERIE CONNECT Erie Family Health Center knows employee satisfaction directly impacts our patients. To help boost staff morale and provide an even higher level of quality care, a survey was administered to determine the areas for improvement. A common occurring theme was found— the lack of structure

for internal documents and information. To help this problem Erie decided to take on a new endeavor: Erie Connect! On July 19, 2010 Erie launched an employee-only Web site, designed to give staff access to commonly used forms and links. Erie Connect, designed by an outside team of consultants

and an internal task force, aides staff in not only locating forms but providing announcements, a database for internal referrals, a staff directory, the ability to electronically schedule conference room reservations and much more! Erie’s hope is that the easier our employees’ jobs are every day, the more

focused staff can be on serving our patients. The project was funding by Prince Charitable Trust, a foundation supporting a broad array of services to enhance the quality of life of its citizens. Erie looks forward to implementing even more features and functions of Erie Connect in the next few months!

SAVE THE DATE... Join Erie Family Health Center on Thursday, February 24, 2011 at LaSalle Power Company for live music, cocktails, appetizers and, most importantly, the opportunity to help those most in need of health care in your Chicago community. All event proceeds will directly assist Erie in supporting low-income, predominately Latino families and individuals. Help keep Chicago healthier by attending this event! TICKETS: www.eriefamilyhealth.org/salud VIDEO: www.vimeo.com/160352

It’s official. Erie Family Health Center is a 2010 Chicago Tribune Top Workplaces. Read more below. (P.S. Erie is really excited!)

hy do employees of Erie Family Health Center smile? Because even when times are tough, they are working for one of the greatest employers in Chicago. This month the Chicago Tribune is publishing a special report recognizing the region’s best places to work, judged by those who know best — the employees.

Erie is pleased to announce we have been named as a Chicago Tribune Top Workplaces 2010! The list springs directly from the opinions of people all across Chicagoland, in cubicles and labs, on plant floors and in board rooms, in nursing stations and university hallways. The 100 Chicago-area companies in the Tribune’s Top Workplaces were selected from the results

of employee surveys measuring qualities including company leadership, career opportunities, conditions, workplace flexibility, compensation and benefits. The survey was measured by the responses to 24 distinct statements, ranging from “This organization’s culture encourages inclusion and respect” to “It’s easy to tell the truth to my boss.” Results were

weighted based on the size of the company and then ranked within their size. For a master list of the Chicago Tribune’s Top 100 Workplaces please visit their Web site at www.chicagotribune. com. Erie would like to thank all of its employees who dedicate their lives to improve the lives of others —it’s no wonder Erie is one of the Chicago Tribune’s Top 100 Places to Work!

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