Erie Housing Authority Opens Health Clinic

Niveana with Nurse Practitioner, Joseph Phillips

The Multi-Cultural Health Evaluation Delivery System (MHEDS) is seeing housing authority patients in Erie, Pennsylvania. The family health care program is provided by the Housing Authority of the City of Eric (HACE) in partnership with MHEDS and is situated in the Marsha Ann Hall Learning Center. It offers family health services to over 3,000 residents within walking distance of four public housing properties: Harbor Homes, Harbor Homes Annex, John E. Horan Garden Apartments and Eastbrook.

MHEDS was chosen as a partner because they have a history of dealing with those who are isolated from health care by their low incomes or geographic areas, and also those of other nationalities and cultural backgrounds who do not speak English and need translators. It serves 39 ethnic groups, ranging from Somalians to Sudanese, Turkish, Bosnians, Russians, Ukrainians, Iraqis, Armenians, Mexicans, Kurds and Asians—all immigrants or refugees to the United States and Erie, Pennsylvania.

This specialized health program provides interpreters and caseworkers to guide people through the health care system, providing person-to-person health education, translation, interpretation, and referrals to other medical and social service agencies.

For Stacie Chapman, a mother of three, this new clinic is lifesaving. As soon as it opened, Stacie made sure that her children were checked out by the clinic nurse practitioner, Joseph Phillips.

Nurse Practitioner Phillips can perform checkups, administer inoculations, prescribe medications, and make physician referrals. When Phillips entered the exam room, two year old Niveana stared at the doorway expectedly. She didn’t utter a word during the entire exam. After the exam, Phillips proclaimed "Perfectly Healthy! He then smiled broadly at Niveana’s mother and she smiled back as he finished the exam and then left the room. "I love you", Niveana said, as Phillips went out the door.