Rep. JoAnne Favors
Erlanger officials will be joined by Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and County Mayor Jim Coppinger to kick-off National Health Centers week on Monday, Aug. 8, at noon at the Dodson Avenue CommunityHealth Center. State Rep. JoAnne Favors, who has been a lifelong advocate for community health centers, will be honored for her support and commitment at this event.
“Representative Favors was recruited out of retirement to serve as administrator of the Southside andDodson Avenue Community Health Centers and is credited with having stabilized the health centers and ensuring they continue to serve this community,” said Angel Moore, current CEO of Erlanger’s community health centers. “For decades her commitment and focus has been to improving the health of this community, by ensuring affordable, accessible health care to vulnerable populations and strengthening family relations,” Ms. Moore said.
As part of her continued commitment to the mission of community health centers and to the communities they serve, Rep. Favors will be actively and aggressively working with Erlanger leadership, along with other community leaders, to discuss plans for a future site for the Southside Community Health Center that will better meet the needs of that community, according to Ms. Moore.
Ms. Moore will be presenting the award to Rep. Favors during Monday’s kick-off ceremony which is held annually to recognize supporters of community health centers and highlight the many services the Erlanger centers provide to area residents.
Rep. Favors has a lengthy professional career in health care and has served in various capacities, including health administration, certified clinical specialist, head nurse, tenured associate professor of nursing atChattanooga State and member of the Erlanger Health System board of trustees. In 2004 she ran a successful campaign for Tennessee State Representative and was unopposed for her second term and currently serves as Chair of the Professional Occupations Committee, Assistant Majority Whip and Secretary of the Health and Human Resources Committee. She was named Tennessee Nurse of the Year for District 4 and served as past president of the Tennessee Nurses Association.
“Patient Appreciation Day” will be held at both Southside and Dodson Community Health Centers on Thursday, Aug. 11 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Free health information will be available to patients and refreshments served by board members and staff.
This year’s theme, “Celebrating America’s Health Centers: Innovators in Community Health,” highlights more than 50 years of recorded history and growth of health centers in comprehensive, high-quality preventive and primary health care to patients, regardless of their ability to pay. According to National Health Centers, health centers serve as the medical and healthcare home for nearly 24 million people annually. One in every fifteen people living in the United States depends on their services.
The Southside and Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers’ focus for over 45 years is to provide primary and preventive medical care for people of all ages, including prenatal and OB/GYN services. The centers also offer educational information on nutrition, exercise programs, diabetes, hypertension and how to stop smoking. These services are a part of the centers' approach to providing high-quality clinical care regardless of the patients’ ability to pay and a reflection of their service to the community.
For more information on the events or health services, contact the Southside Community Health Center,100 East 37th Street, at 778-2700 or Dodson Avenue Community Health Center, 1200 Dodson Avenue, at 778-2800.
Left to right, Angel Moore, CEO of Erlanger’s Community Health Centers and State Rep. JoAnne Favors