SPH Grad Named Erie Family Health Center Pres. & CEO

Dr. Lee Francis, who received his Masters in Public Health from the UIC School of Public Health in 2000, has been appointed President and CEO of the Erie Family Health Center.

Erie Family Health Center provides comprehensive primary care services at eight health center sites to over 30,000 low-income patients per year, regardless of ability to pay, in the Chicago communities of Albany Park, Avondale, Belmont Cragin, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Irving Park, Lincoln Square, Logan Square, North Lawndale and West Town.

Services provided at Erie include pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine and women’s health. In addition, Erie provides HIV/AIDS care, behavioral health, case management services, health education (asthma, diabetes, nutrition, parenting and prenatal) and oral health services. Erie’s patient population is 87% Hispanic; 50% are uninsured; 81% live below 100% of the federal poverty level; and, 82% are best served in Spanish.

Francis received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Amherst College in 1983, after which he received his medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine in 1988. Francis completed his residency in internal medicine at Cook County Hospital in 1991. He then served as an attending physician at both Cook County Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

From 1993-1997, Francis served as the Director of Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program at Cook County Hospital. Dr. Francis joined Erie Family Health Center as an Internist in 1991. In 2000, he received a Masters in Public Health from the UIC School of Public Health. In 2001, Dr. Francis became Erie’s Vice President of Medical Services, a position he held until this recent appointment.

"I am honored to be able to lead Erie at a very challenging time as the number of uninsured increases and as we experience new frontiers in battling chronic diseases and challenges in providing oral health services," Dr. Francis said.