When Malarie Rodriguez of Chicago found herself three weeks pregnant and in an abusive relationship, she turned to Erie Family Health Center. Like 33 percent of Hispanics in the United States, Rodriguez was not insured. And she was more likely to receive poorer quality care, according to the latest government reports. But Rodriguez knew Erie Family Health Center offered quality care that would help her through the pregnancy and out of her situation regardless of her ability to pay.

She enrolled in Erie's maternal health program and was assigned to a case manager. The case manager provided counseling, home visits, donations of bottles and other items for the baby. She says that at every single appointment, she was made to feel comfortable. Erie Family Health Center's award-winning maternal health program ensures Rodriguez and hundreds of women like her receive comprehensive quality care.

(l-r) Lee Francis, MD, MPH Vice President, Medical Services Erie Family Health Center; Xichel Woods, President and CEO Erie Family Health Center; and G. Travis Shamel, Jr., Regional Sales Director, Sodexho Health Care Services

The maternal health program at Erie Family Health Center was recognized as one of nation's best and received the 2005 Spirit of Excellence Award in Quality given by Sodexho Health Care Services in partnership with Modern Healthcare magazine. The award was given to Erie Family Health Center for its patient-care model which increased enrollment for mothers in their first trimester from 44% to 77% and reduced babies with low birth weight from 8% to 5%. These statistics are well above the national and state enrollment levels of 60% and 56%, respectively, and below low birth weights of 7%.

With nearly 50 years of experience, Erie Family Health Center serves nearly 28,000 patients annually through eight primary sites, including three elementary school-based health centers, a teen health center and a dental health center. Erie provides individuals and families with access to the following services regardless of their ability to pay. That is part of its mission; they believe that access to quality healthcare is a right and not a privilege.

The effort began when nurse midwives said they were concerned that collaboration was lacking, resulting in fragmented services, an opinion later independently expressed by obstetricians and case managers, according to Xichel Woods, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago-based center, which has eight ambulatory-only locations and saw 28,000 patients in the year ended Oct. 31.

A process-improvement team composed of physicians, behavioral health therapists, case managers, nurses and others worked to design a model to best serve a population that is 87% Hispanic, 70% low-income and 53% uninsured.

This team produced a comprehensive patient-care model that features multidisciplinary teams, co-location of disciplines within a clinical area, defined roles and monthly review meetings.

For this work and the results it has produced, Erie Family Health Center has won the Spirit of Excellence quality award.

What is greatest is Erie's impact on patients like Rodriguez. She says Erie Family Health Center did more than provide prenatal care, they changed her life. She was assigned a case manager to help her deal with domestic violence issues, for example, and they have continued to provide her with information on places to go, provided home visits to check up on both she and her baby, and have provided information on things she can do to keep herself safe.

Erie was selected by Sodexho from 104 health care organizations vying for the top honors in quality, service, team and community awards. Since Erie Family Health Center implemented the comprehensive patient-care model for its prenatal patients in 2002, the maternal health program has grown. The program is ranked number one among 35 other prenatal programs in the Chicago metro area for enrolling patients in their first trimester.

Erie's policy is to never turn a person away even if they can't pay. This goes hand in hand with Sodexho's mission statement to "contribute to a more pleasant way of life for people whenever and wherever they come together." In this role, Sodexho has itself won several awards, including being named to the Top Companies for People with Disabilities, the Top Ten Companies for Executive Women, and the Top 50 Companies for Diversity, all awarded by DiversityInc. In addition Sodexho was named as one of the Top 25 Companies for African-Americans by Black Professional Magazine and was ranked as one of the top U.S. companies for Asian Americans by Asian Enterprise Magazine.

Roberta Spehr has been appointed director of nursing at Wynscape, the skilled nursing and rehabilitative facility on the comprehensive Wyndemere Senior Living Campus, it was recently announced by Joseph Benson, president of Wyndemere.

Prior to her current position, she served as a clinical supervisor for the private duty division of CNS Home Health and Hospice, a Central DuPage Hospital affiliate.

She also served as a clinic coordinator, a home care liaison and a case manager at CNS Home Health and Hospice early in her career. She began her career at Harmony Health Care as a private duty nursing supervisor.

Spehr holds a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from Northern Illinois University, in DeKalb, IL.

Damon Havill has begun his new duties as director of planning and business development at Lake Forest Hospital.

Havill most recently served as planning & business development manager at Summa Health System in Akron, OH, which operates three acute-care hospitals with a total of 1,235 licensed beds and a 140,000-member health plan offering commercial, Medicare and self-funded insurance products. There he served in a key role on several projects including the system’s strategic plan and physician-alignment strategy.

Havill has a master’s degree in health services administration from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from Emory University.