Saying Debbie Poerio is passionate about her job is a major understatement.
As president and CEO of Integrated Health Services in East Hartford, Poerio is unabashedly relentless in her commitment to providing access to adequate health care services for children and their families — most of whom are either uninsured, underinsured or without access to a health care provider.
“I love advocating for children and families who in my perspective, are entitled to quality, affordable, and accessible health care,” says Poerio. “I enjoy working with colleagues and staff on creative and innovative approaches to expanding services and collaborations.”
For Poerio, her role at IHS is the culmination of years of hard work and determination.
A nurse practitioner in private and public health practices early in her career, Poerio was tabbed by the East Hartford School System and Manchester Memorial Hospital to run its first School Based Health Center at East Hartford Middle School in 1993.
School Based Health Centers are comprehensive primary health care facilities licensed as outpatient clinics and located at schools to serve students in grades pre-K-12. The centers are staffed by teams of pediatric and adolescent health specialists, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, physicians and in some cases, dentists and dental hygienists.
Manchester Memorial Hospital administered the centers until 2007 when increasing state and federal regulatory changes threatened the future of the program under the hospital.
Poerio spearheaded the effort to save the program, seeking and gaining the support of hospital and community stakeholders to create IHS, a nonprofit which has been operating the School Based Health Centers program since 2008.
IHS handles more than 7,500 student/patient visits annually in six East Hartford schools.
Poerio recalls a time when a concerned high school psychologist came up to her concerned about a student whose parents had called to say she had not returned home. Upon learning the girl’s history, it became clear to Poerio the girl was having a schizophrenic break.
She immediately contacted the principal, security, and the police who found the student and brought her directly to the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Dept. at Manchester Memorial Hospital, the School Based Health Center’s psychiatric referral facility.
“I was able to call ahead and ensure that they had the history from the school psychologist as well as our support,” Poerio recalls. “This reminded me again how essential collaborations were to ensure comprehensive care for children, and how fortunate our students were to have access to a comprehensive behavioral health system where other school systems do not.”
In September, IHS was awarded a grant of $800,000 for dental expansion of its Galvin Dental Program by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – one of only 12 awards given nationally. The four-year grant will bring the dental care program directly into East Hartford’s public schools, including two new magnet schools at Goodwin College. Poerio also secured the donation of a Dodge Caravan to transport dental equipment.
“The program has reduced tooth decay in students from over 60 percent to only 3 percent,” said Todd Andrews, vice president, College Relations & Advancement at Goodwin College who nominated Poerio for the award. Andrews also chairs the board at IHS.
Thankful to be honored, Poerio is quick to give credit to those she works with.
“I am proud of the quality of services and professionalism exhibited by the nurse practitioners, social workers, dental hygienists and administrative staff,” she said. “They are truly dedicated to our mission and the children/families they serve, and ensuring that the quality and care provided them never falters.”
STATS
Name: Debbie Poerio
Title: President and CEO
Workplace: Integrated Health Services
Address: 763 Burnside Avenue, East Hartford
Website: www.integratedhealthservices.org
