North and Central Regional Employee of the Month

Note: Julia joins Amy in writing about outstanding employees from various sites around CHC.

On Friday, August 5^th, we had our first all staff meeting as a newly designated North and Central Region. This region encompasses the CHC sites in Enfield, Bristol, New Britain and Meriden, under the leadership of Yvette Highsmith-Francis.

Meeting together as a region allowed Meriden staff the opportunity to visit the New Britain clinic. It was also a great way for staff to meet in person and share ideas. We welcomed several new staff members, congratulated those who were celebrating anniversaries and recognized several employees for outstanding achievement, including our first regional employee of the month- Brenda Lopez!

Brenda is the Access to Care Supervisor for the entire agency. As such, her duties involve coordinating CHC’s statewide outreach and enrollment efforts. During the summer and fall months, Brenda is very involved in the Connecticut River Valley Farmworker Health Program (CRVFHP). As part of this program, Brenda and her team offer outreach services such as health education, transportation to appointments and referrals to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Earlier in the season, Brenda noticed that the farmworkers she was meeting with were all rather sunburned. Noting that proper skin care and limiting sun exposure are important components of overall preventative health, Brenda asked Yvette if we could use some of the funds allocated for this program to provide sunblock and hats for these folks. Yvette was impressed with this idea and took it one step further, by bringing the suggestion to Mary Ellen O’ Driscoll, coordinator of CRVFHP.  Mary Ellen agreed it was a great idea and made sure that all the health centers in Connecticut and Massachusetts which participate in the CRVFHP now have additional funds available for sunscreen, hats and gloves for the farmworkers.

Congratulations, Brenda! Through your compassion for the patients you serve, you were able to make a suggestion which led to better preventative health care and quality of life for many people across the state!