Anyone who has ever walked west down Chicago Avenue, just past Paulina Street in the summer can usually tell you about an usual landmark: a life-sized fake horse parked out in front the western-themed store, Alcala’s Western Wear. This landmark finds itself just up the street from Erie West Town Health Center – Erie’s largest site and home base for Erie’s administration.

This week the website Gapers Block wrote about the changes Chicago Avenue has seen over the last 40 - 50 years and the direction the neighborhood is moving, including that life-sized horse. This article is a great read that paints a picture of this ever-changing neighborhood.

Beats this week: 

1) Happy September! This month has several national health observances, including National Cholesterol Education Month, National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

2) Illinois’ current financial crisis continues unfolding: Illinois’ low credit score will cost taxpayers over half a billion dollars in borrowing expenses. Illinois currently has a credit rating on par with California.   

3) The New England Journal of Medicine published an article this week by Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about how prevention is promoted through the Affordable Care Act, aka health care reform. It is an interesting read that highlights the many innovative strategies used to promote wellness and preventive medicine.

4) It is that time of year again – time to get your flu shot! Who can believe it but another year has gone by and another flu season has started. Don’t worry, though, this year there is no need to get two shots because there is an all-in-one vaccine that will protect you from H1N1 and two other kinds of seasonal influenza.

5) A new study released by the Urban Institute this week found that more than half of all nine-month-old babies growing up in poverty are being raised by mothers suffering some form of depression. This is much higher than the rate of depression for mothers that do not have a low-income living situation.

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

Beats this week: 

1) While this might not be surprising to some, here’s a piece that is most definitely good news: Illinois Health Connect saved Illinois millions in FY2008! This program, which links Medicaid patients with a medical home, where treatment and patient referrals are coordinated centrally, saved Illinois approximately $140 million, according to the Robert Graham Center.

2) And now here is more good news! Illinois has just begun providing new high-risk insurance pools for individuals with pre-existing conditions who are without medical covered. The program, Illinois Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, was implemented as part of health care reform and works on a first come, first serve basis.  

3) Have you been eating your leafy green veggies lately? Well, if not then you should! According to a study released recently by the University of Leicester, people who add more green leafy vegetables to their diet may significantly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Bring on the spinach!  

4) In a sign that the recession is continuing to hit home for Illinois families, birth rates in Illinois have dropped by approximately 5% according the data made available by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the National Center for Health Statistics. The results compare birth data from similar months in 2007 and 2009.

5) And finally to round out Health Beats this week, let’s talk about eggs. Are you unsure what eggs were recalled? Want to keep up to date on all the recent news related to the egg recall to ensure you throw out recalled eggs? Then be sure to check out these links for the latest news and updates.   

This weeks edition of Health Beats is on hiatus, but Erie would like to congratulate the winners of the National Association of Community Health Centers’ video contest! You are all doing awesome work for your organization! Keep up the good work!

Grand Prize Winner: Walmanalo Health Center, Walmanalo, Hawaii

First Prize Winner: AltaMed Health Services, Los Angeles, California

Second Prize Winner: Grace Hill Health Center, St. Louis, Missouri

Erie Beats

Check out the electronic Special Edition of Spotlight, covering the Golden Toothbrush Awards!

Beats this week – National Health Center Week Edition: 

1) Happy National Health Center Week! What are you doing to celebrate health centers and all their accomplishments? Take a look at what some folks are doing around the country to commemorate this week.

2) Have you been following National Association for Community Health Center’s (NACHC) Health Center Week video competition? Well, if you haven’t then you should! It is a great way to find out about health centers across the country – even Hawaii!

3) This week has seen a great deal of news about community health centers – all good of course! NACHC recently released a report entitled, Community Health Centers Lead the Primary Care Revolution, which outlines the various ways that community health centers are best positioned to provide accessible, affordable high quality health care to those newly insured by health care reform. It is a great read!

4) Building on this sentiment, the Center for American Progress released a paper on the impact that community health centers have on underserved communities, specifically declaring that community health centers help to revitalize communities by creating economic benefits and high-quality care.

5) Finally, National Health Center Week kicked off with a bang on Friday when HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, announced the availability of Health Center New Access Point grant applications. This new opportunity for health centers will help fund approximately 350 new service delivery sites.  

Erie Beats

Check out Erie Family Health Center’s Summer 2010 Spotlight Newsletter! Read about what is going on at Erie via Spotlight electronically!

Beats this week:

1) Next week is National Health Center Week and it is going to kick off with a bang! This Friday, Health and Human Service Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, is sitting down for a tele-town hall conference with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) to discuss Health Center Program and the Affordable Care Act.

2) Still trying to decide what to do for National Health Center Week? Lucky for you NACHC is keeping a great list. Check out all the awesome events going on in Illinois next week.

3) Sad news for Illinoisans: more Illinois residents are using food stamps than ever before. An estimated 780,000 Illinois families are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), up nearly 12% from the year prior.

4) Happy (kind of) Birthday ARRA funds!  After a year of having American Recovery and Reinvestment funds in our pockets, community health centers have provided care to approximately 2.1 million new patients! This is quite an accomplishment considering the goal was to provide care to 2.9 million new users over two years!

5) It is the news story that just keeps unfolding: Governor Quinn announced today the last of the planned cuts to the Illinois state budget. The new cuts include school transportation grants, operating funds for psychiatric hospitals and developmental centers, and a subsidy to Peoria’s Wildlife Prairie Park.

Last week Northwestern University stopped by Erie West Town Health Center to learn more about our Electronic Health Records System and what it means to our centers. Check out the video below to learn more!