Summer is here and the children are out of school. Many of you are likely planning family vacations. Keep in mind the summer is the perfect time to schedule all of your appointments without having to juggle school schedules. At Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI), we want to make quality healthcare convenient for your family. You can schedule your dental, pediatric, vision and other appointments all on the same day.

Some of you might have celebrated a graduation recently. Here at CHI, we are looking forward to graduating our third class of six residents in June and bringing on seven new residents just a couple weeks later with a white coat ceremony. Summer is a busy time for CHI. We recently acknowledged our nurses for their dynamic and compassionate contribution to care during Nurses Week. We thank them for being an integral part of our operations, ensuring that our patients, families and employees get the best care possible.

I am proud to tell you that CHI was recently awarded several honors including: Chamber South’s 1st Place Multi-Cultural Workforce Award, 2nd Place Corporate and Social Responsibility award and I was given the 2nd place Executive of the year award. In addition, I am grateful to Legacy Magazine as I was awarded the Legacy Legend of the Year award for one of the most powerful and influential black business leaders of 2019. It was an honor simply to be among so many insightful and innovative leaders at the awards gala. On top of this, CHI was named one of three Healthcare Hero Award finalists by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

I want to thank those who supported us by participating in CHI’s Glen Rice Celebrity Golf Tournament. We had 130 golfers participate on this fun day and the event helped raise $45,000 to help build our Children’s Crisis Center for kids who need inpatient, 24-hour intensive mental health treatment. You can still be part of the solution for our kids. Just log onto our website to donate at https://chisouth.wpengine.com/annual-giving/ or call (305) 252-4853.

We are constantly looking at how we can improve to serve you better. Recently, we expanded our parking lot at our Naranja Health Center to accommodate more people and we added new solar lights. We are almost done with our expansion project for our Marathon Health Center and hope to open the doors to our new state of the art facility this summer. More to come on the grand opening.

Yours Truly,

Brodes H. Hartley, Jr.
President/CEO

As a working mother of two school-age children, Yozuhara Delgadillo found herself struggling to put food on the table. In spite of her back pain, Delgadillo managed to find work as a housekeeper, while her husband worked as a gardener.

“The job wasn’t steady,” Delgadillo said. “We could not rely on a steady income.” The Delgadillo family faced the same problem every month struggling to pay rent and keeping up with other household costs. Their lives were filled with anxiety and fear over their finances.

Then, her kid’s school referred her to Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI) for help. Delgadillo learned that she was eligible for more than just food stamps. Thanks to CHI’s Benefits Enrollment Program, which helps anyone caring for children access a wide range of benefits, Delgadillo could soon breathe a sigh of relief.

Now, Delgadillo’s children have access to food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and her two sons, who are 11 and 8, have health care coverage through Florida’s Health Insurance Program KidCare.

Eunice Hines, Director of Migrant Health Services & Outreach at CHI, said anyone can apply for benefits regardless of their immigration status.

“It’s all about the community and linking them to needed services,” she said. “We offer 18 benefits, but even if the services they need are not on the list, we can help them out through other means, either by linking them to churches or other agencies.”

Through this program, CHI and The Children’s Trust have teamed up to close care gaps and reduce barriers for families. The team helps enroll families in a host of programs including cash assistance, school lunch, Medicaid, social security, housing energy assistance, childcare assistance and much more.

“I really do not know what we would have done without this help,” Delgadillo said. “They made it so easy and there were no judgments.”

If you or your family need this assistance, you can call (305) 252-4871.

Black History Month is a time to look back at past achievements. At Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI) the late Doris Ison helped pave the way for equality among races in healthcare starting in 1971.

“She convinced a group of doctors from her church to volunteer their time and the team worked out of two double-wide trailers,” recalled Brodes Hartley Jr., President and CEO of CHI. “That dream grew into what is now CHI. It just goes to show what dedication, heart and sacrifice can do. We can all learn from Ison. No dream is too big. No barrier should be insurmountable.”

Ison’s legacy continues today with Hartley carrying her torch. This February, Hartley created the first-of-its-kind health care speakers bureau series to address disparities among African-Americans.

“Knowledge is part of the solution,” said Hartley. That’s why we believe in being an educational resource for our community.”

CHI held its lecture series at seven local churches and community organizations.

“We wanted to use this opportunity to address key health care issues,” said Dr. Saint Anthony Amofah, Chief Medical Officer and Senior VP. “We chose to highlight HIV, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and depression.”

Dr. Amofah said his presence serves to remind the community that health care is available and they do not have to go far to obtain it for themselves and their families.

“We need to make sure people are aware of the prevalence of these diseases and how ignoring them can create worse outcomes,” Dr. Amofah said.

According to Dr. Amofah, African-Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, however they account for 43 percent of all new HIV diagnoses. Dr. Amofah encouraged everyone to get tested as soon as possible to get the best care early.

For other conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking and depression there is a lot people can do to avoid or improve their symptoms through diet and exercise. For example, if you suffer from hypertension, avoid canned foods, as these tend to be excessively high in salt. If you’re prescribed medication, take it daily and manage your pill count so you don’t run out.

When it comes to diabetes, the stats are also bad. African-American adults are 80 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes. Dr. Amofah encourages people who are at high risk of developing diabetes or currently have it to keep a healthy weight through diet and exercise. Controlling your blood pressure helps alleviate symptoms, and if you smoke, quit.

Two hundred children received free dental cleanings, fluoride treatment and dental sealants at Community Health of South Florida Inc.’s (CHI) Give Kids A Smile Day on February 1st. The event offered dental services to children ages 3 to 16-years-old in partnership with the American Dental Association Foundation. Christina Colley made sure to bring her 4-year-old son, Johnathan, to the West Perrine Health Center for his cleaning. As they were waiting she asked him about his hygiene routine.

“I brush my teeth,” beamed Johnathan.

“Yes, and how do we get in between our teeth?” asked the mom.

“We use our nails,” the toddler jokingly responded as the waiting room erupted in laughter.

“No we use floss,” she said, unable to contain her smile after his response.

Seven of CHI’s dental locations from the Keys and through Miami-Dade offered the free services on that day and all were packed with families eager to take advantage of the promotion.

Ibeli Cauribe, an unemployed mom, brought her 13-year-old daughter.

“These are very expensive services so it’s a great idea to have it for free,” said Cauribe. “It gives us an opportunity to have at least part of the work done.”

“CHI was founded on the premise that everyone should have access to high quality healthcare regardless of economic or insurance status,” said Brodes H. Hartley Jr., President and CEO of CHI. “We do these events to reach out to those in need and to show that CHI is here for them year-round. We offer a sliding fee scale for the uninsured so that even when we are not having Give Kids a Smile Day, everyone has the ability to care for their oral health.”

Back at the Doris Ison Health Center, Dr. Sheri Watson-Hamilton, DMD was busy working with her team to care for the nearly 40 children who showed up for dental care at that site. Dr. Watson-Hamilton is the Director of Dental Services and outfitted her team in brightly colored shirts with the Give Kids a Smile Day logo.

“Many of us worked through lunch and into the evening that day but we did so happily,” said Dr. Watson-Hamilton. “It makes it all worthwhile to know that children who need dental care are receiving the services they need to stay healthy. A child who doesn’t have dental care can’t concentrate in school, can’t enjoy a meal, and suffers with his or her overall health.”

Lynelle Clarke brought her three girls ages 13, 7 and 5 to the Doris Ison Health Center. For the two youngest ones it was their first time at the dentist.

“It does make it easier on parents to get what they need done for their kids,” said Clarke.

Her girls also got to pose for a photo with Ratoncito Perez, a giant cartoonish rat sponsored by Delta Dental also known as the Spanish counterpart to the tooth fairy.

Five-year-old Eden announced, “I think they’re going to make our teeth nice and shiny and clean!”

True to the day’s name, every child left with a smile on their face, even those who were initially a bit apprehensive about visiting the dentist.

Yvette Casas is the new Director of Managed Care at CHI. The department oversees referrals, HEDIS (Health Effectiveness Data and Information Set), a set of managed care performance measures, Care Coordination, and Comprehensive AIDS Resources and Education Services (CARES). Yvette began the first stage of her career working for Ocean Bank as a lending officer after she received her Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Florida International University. She later returned to school to get her BSN nursing degree from Barry University.

Although initially focused on clinical work at Jackson Memorial Hospital and later Baptist Health, she took an administrative position at a Federally Qualified Health Center as a program manager and nursing administrator. Most recently she was the Health Services manager at Leon Medical Center Health plans where she led Care Coordination, Disease Management, and Case Management for the Managed Care Organization. She believes her primary goal is to assist not only the patients, but the providers at CHI to continue the mission of the organization.