EBCAP Employee Awarded Brenda Seagrave-Whittle Social Worker Award

East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) is pleased to announce that Janine Petracca-Fonseca, Assistant Program Manager of EBCAP’s Integrated Health Home Teams Program, was awarded the inaugural Brenda Seagrave-Whittle Social Worker Award at a ceremony held yesterday at EBCAP’s East Bay Health Center in Barrington. This scholarship was presented by the Rhode Island Health Center Association (RIHCA) and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (Neighborhood) and it honors a community health center employee pursuing or advancing a career in social work. The scholarship will assist Petracca-Fonseca as she pursues her Master of Social Work degree at Rhode Island College.

“Janine is a dedicated member of our Behavioral Health Team,” states Amy Maguire, EBCAP’s VP of Behavioral Health Services. “She provides excellent care to EBCAP’s more acute clients with serious mental illness, and her commitment to her community and the values of high-quality, person-centered care make her a perfect recipient of this scholarship.”

The Brenda Seagrave-Whittle Social Worker Award was established in recognition of the leadership, advocacy, and compassion of Brenda Seagrave-Whittle, who retired earlier this year after serving as Chief Marketing Officer for Neighborhood. “During her 20-plus year career, she led efforts that expanded access to managed care for RIte Care eligible families, children in the Rhode Island foster care system, children with special health care needs, adults with disabilities, and dually eligible adults,” states Elena Nicolella, President and CEO of RIHCA.

“Neighborhood is honored to recognize you, Janine Petracca-Fonseca, for your outstanding contributions in the field of social work. This award reflects Brenda Seagrave-Whittle’s unwavering commitment to being a voice for those who are not always heard. Her work -- like yours -- inspires us all to aim higher,” said Neighborhood President & CEO Peter Marino.

East Bay Community Program is a private, non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation that provides a wide array of health and human services to the residents of Rhode Island’s East Bay, including the municipalities of Barrington, Bristol, East Providence, Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth, Tiverton, and Warren. EBCAP’s Federally Qualified Health Centers provide comprehensive primary care services including preventive health services, mental/behavioral health services, primary medical care, dental care, substance use and recovery services. For more information, visit www.ebcap.org.

Since 1972, the Rhode Island Health Center Association has been the voice of community based primary care health programs. Focusing on Rhode Island’s community health centers, the Association plays a vital role in educating federal, state and local policymakers about issues relating to health care and the role of the community health centers in the health care continuum. For more information, visit www.rihca.org.

Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (Neighborhood) is a not-for-profit health maintenance organization (HMO) founded in December 1993 in partnership with Rhode Island’s Community Health Centers and the state to ensure everyone in Rhode Island has access to high quality, cost-effective health care. Neighborhood serves nearly r 220,000 members in the state with 77 percent of its membership Medicaid eligible through its ACCESS and TRUST plans and five percent of its membership utilizing Neighborhood’s INTEGRITY Medicare-Medicaid Plan (MMP). About 18 percent of Neighborhood’s members are individuals, families and small businesses who select a Neighborhood commercial plan available through the health exchange, HealthSourceRI. Of these members, about 85 percent qualify for federal subsidies to cover a portion of their costs. Today, Neighborhood—with more than 650 employees and $1.6 billion in revenue—serves one out of every five Rhode Islanders. Learn more at www.nhpri.org.