Mexican-American woman honored for running Rockford non-emergency transport service

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — For many, the American Dream has meant being your own boss. That has been the case two generations of one Rockford family, originally from Mexico.

Brisa Berumen-Dixon started her non-emergency medical transportation company, Seabreeze, in 2019 after seeing patients struggling to reach healthcare appointments.

"I was working in the community with patients who had traumatic brain injuries, and there was a big barrier with assisting individuals to get to their medical appointments, Berumen-Dixon said. "We often don't think about how impactful transportation can be, but one in five individuals are impacted by transportation, and 32% of patients that don't show up to their medical appointments are due to transportation."

Her business now operates 25 vehicles, completing 325 trips per day.

On Thursday, the City of Rockford highlighted Berumen-Dixon and her business accomplishments on their social media .

Earlier this year, the City proclaimed June 17th as Berumen Family Day to honor her grandparents, Jose and Herminia, and their contributions to the city.

"They actually have the first Mexican grocery store in Rockford located on the corner of Cunningham and Corbin. El Jalisco," Berumen-Dixon said. "I will never forget individuals and families coming in who were struggling and my grandfather would be like, go ahead and get what you need. He was always willing to help to go above and beyond. That was definitely something that he instilled in me."

She says she hopes to inspire other Hispanic-Americans to a life of service in their communities.

"I hope I can continue to inspire, you know, mi gente (my people). I hope that I can be that and more to continue to inspire other individuals to start businesses in the community that I was born and raised in," she said.

Her name, Brisa, means "Seabreeze" in Spanish.