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AACI's NEWSLETTER - FALL 2007
In this issue:
A Message from Michele
A Personal Story
AACI at the 2007 Walk for AIDS Silicon Valley
AACI Now offers HIV Rapid Testing
Wang Family Supports AACI's Domestic Violence Program
AACI Celebrates the Expansion of Its Primary Care Health Clinic
Supervisor Liz Kniss Celebrates Asian American Heroes
November 5, 2007
Greetings!
I'm delighted to be back at AACI full-time, after several months
of maternity leave.
As a new mom, I'm aware that in the last few months, I have been
blessed with (1) high quality health care, for my son and
myself, and (2) parents nearby who have been a tremendous source
of support.
Returning to AACI, I'm proud that we recently completed an
expansion of our community health clinic and hired an additional
full-time physician, allowing us to provide high quality health
care to more patients. We treat patients regardless of
their ability to pay, and we hope to double our number of
patient visits in the next three years. Special thanks to
the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors for supporting our
clinic expansion.
I'm also proud of AACI's senior wellness program, which offers
an array of activities for hundreds of seniors. Our senior
wellness program provides seniors with a welcoming environment
where they can meet friends, learn English and computer skills,
enjoy a nutritious lunch, play ping pong, and participate in a
vibrant community. My parents, who are seniors themselves,
and I had a great time at the recent senior appreciation
luncheon.
I'm glad that AACI is providing the kind of health care and
senior services that my own family would seek. If your
family is seeking services, we hope you will contact us at (408)
975-2730 and come for a visit. Our incredible staff of
over 120 collectively speaks over a dozen languages in order to
meet your family's needs.
Sincerely,
Michele Lew
President and CEO
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A Personal Story from an AACI Lay Health Worker
I am a hard-working woman. I have a thoughtful husband and four wonderful children and am active in many Catholic Church parishes throughout San Jose. I have no family history of breast cancer.
Six years ago, while performing a self breast exam, I found a lump on my right breast. Worried, I decided not to wait for my regularly scheduled exam and immediately made an appointment to see my gynecologist. They conducted a clinical breast exam and mammogram but the film was negative. My doctor also told me not to worry so I went home believing that I would be fine. As the next few months passed, I felt tired and weak and felt the lump grow.
I went back for my routine mammogram and again the film was negative. I didn’t understand what was happening because I knew something was wrong. I shared my concerns with my doctor and requested a specialist, who performed a biopsy. Within 24 hours of the biopsy, I received the call. I was diagnosed with stage 3 ½ breast cancer. I knew I had a lump but was still unprepared for what I heard and I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was scheduled for surgery within the week.
I am surviving the breast cancer and wanted to share my personal experiences with other women like me so I became a Lay Health Worker through AACI. Through the Vietnamese Breast Cancer Lay Health Worker Project, I have been educating my peers about this disease. If my peers take nothing else away from their sessions, I want them to take away this message: perform self breast exams, get routine mammograms, and if something doesn’t feel right, contact your doctor right away.
About the AACI Vietnamese Breast Cancer Lay Health Worker Project:
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Vietnamese women and in California from 1988-2001, it accounted for 22.2% of all cancers among these women. Vietnamese women also have low rates of mammography use.
The AACI Vietnamese Lay Health Worker Breast Cancer Project was funded in 2007 by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, San Francisco Bay Area Affiliate. This funding allowed AACI to serve 120 Vietnamese women over age 40 in Santa Clara County. Through this project, AACI recruited and trained lay health workers in the Vietnamese community to provide education sessions in the community on breast cancer awareness, clinical breast exams, and mammograms. By the end of the project, 92% of women who participated knew that they should have a clinical breast exam annually and 100% of the women planned on getting a mammogram within the next 12 months. The project also taught women who were uninsured or underinsured about free mammograms available through the State of California Cancer Detection Program: Every Women Counts.
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On a gorgeous, sunny, Sunday morning, 55 people representing AACI joined 3,000 other enthusiastic walkers to raise money for HIV/AIDS education and prevention services. We began at the AIDS Memorial Grove in Discovery Meadow in high spirits
and not only added to the $170,000 raised that day; we raised a sweat to boot!
Annie Liu, Mental Health Counselor and AACI Team Walk Captain wrote about her experiences that Sunday in a series of Haikus:
Here we go, T-Shirt
Keep warm with extra layers
Here I come AIDS Walk |
AIDS Walk has begun!
Banner up, held with hands
Next year, need a pole | Walking Walking Walk
People chatting happily
Department unite! |
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Sunny, windy, nice
Sweaty, panting still walking
What! Tamon ride bike! |
C'mon almost finished
Can hear the cow bell and cheers
Free food for finish |
People smiling face
Relief to make it to end
Help raise awareness |
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AACI President and CEO, Michele Lew, City of Campbell Councilmember Evan Low, and City of Mountain View Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga, helped launch HIV rapid testing at AACI on May 19th, National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. All three community leaders took the lead in the effort to encourage the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community to take charge of their bodies and get HIV tested during this national campaign to end HIV/AIDS-related stigma.
The Alternative Testing Site (ATS) program offers free HIV rapid testing to all members of the community. The HIV test uses the OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, so the test is non-invasive through using a saliva sample and produces results in 20 minutes. By eliminating the usual two week waiting period for test results, clients can learn their test results immediately and staff provides pre and post counseling. Many clients who get tested using the traditional testing method, have to wait for their results in two weeks will not return to learn of their results, which leave many not knowing their HIV status.
All testing is free and confidential to everyone in the community regardless of racial ethnic background. No prerequisites or health care plans are required to receive this service. AACI is accepting walk-in clients and referrals, although appointments are highly recommended.
The testing program is targeting high risk and at risk clients such as persons with alcohol or substance abuse issues, men who have sex with men, and sex workers, among other populations. Designed as a one-stop-shop model, this program also hopes to reach the clients who AACI already serves in its other departments. While the program is focusing on high risk and at risk clients, everyone in the community is encouraged to get tested whether at AACI or another location.
The HIV rapid testing is currently a cornerstone of the AACI’s HIV/AIDS prevention strategy. Ultimately, the program strives to increase the number of individuals who: 1) reduce their high risk behaviors; 2) are tested for HIV using the OraQuick Advance rapid testing technology; 3) receive their test results right away; and, 4) are linked to the appropriate care and/or risk reduction services.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent estimate, between 850,000 and 950,000 Americans are living with HIV and nearly 180,000 to 280,000 are unaware of their HIV infection. As of 2004, APIs represented about 6.1% of the Santa Clara County’s AIDS cases (2006-2008 Santa Clara County HIV Prevention Plan). This is higher than the national total cases reported which is less than 1%.
The ATS program is a collaborative effort with the Community Health Partnership (CHP). This program was made possible through funding from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
Everyone is encouraged to get tested! For more information, please email hivinfo@aaci.org or call (408) 278-4138. Bilingual assistance is also available.
HIV Testing Locations & Schedules:
AACI Main Office
2400 Moorpark Avenue, Suite 216, San Jose, CA 95128
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm (by appointment only); 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm (walk in/drop in)
AACI Satellite Office
2183 Tully Road, San Jose, CA 95122
Hours: Tuesday - Friday, 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Carla's Salon and Boutique
124 Race Street, San Jose, CA 95126
Hours: Saturday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
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Recently, AACI was the recipient of a very generous family gift. This gift was given in honor of the 50th wedding anniversary of Paul and May Wang by their 5 children, their children’s families and niece.
Paul and May Wang chose AACI’s Domestic Violence Program as the recipient of their family’s gift in order to support the important work of the program and because of the seriousness of the domestic violence in Asian communities.
Mr. Wang explained, "The problem of domestic violence in Asian families is often hidden, but we know it exists. This program can do a great deal towards changing these negative patterns, as well as to educate the Asian community in this important area.”
The Wang Family Gift will go towards supporting vital shelter improvements at the Asian Women’s Home emergency shelter for battered women and their children.
In Santa Clara County, where 30.5% of the population is Asian1, Asian Women’s Home operates the only emergency shelter offering comprehensive services that meet the linguistic and cultural needs of battered Asian women and their children. It is only 1 out of only 7 battered women’s emergency shelters in the country that specializes in serving Asian communities.2
Paul and May Wang met at St. Mary's Chinese Mission in San Francisco over 50 years ago and have been living in Los Altos since 1964. May is a native San Franciscan, and Paul was born in Tianjin, China.
Mr. Wang was an electrical engineer, who worked for Ackerman Engineers, an electrical engineering consulting firm in Palo Alto from 1964-99, before retiring as president. Mrs. Wang was a homemaker and mother of 5 before she started her “second career.”
That they chose to AACI to be the benefactor of their 50th Anniversary gift from their family makes sense given their life-long commitment to community service.
For many years, Mrs. Wang worked with older adults at the Los Altos Senior Center, where she was co-director for 8 years until she retired.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Wang have spent much of their time involved in multiple church-related volunteer activities at St. Simon parish, where their children attended grammar school and they have been parishioners since 1964. Their children have followed their example and many of them are involved in volunteer work or professions that serve the community.
May Wang explained, "This program helps give a new start to women and children affected by domestic violence. We are happy to be able to help them in whatever small way we can."
1
U.S. Census 2006.
2 Lora Jo Foo, “Asian American Women Issues: Concerns and Responsive Human and Civil Rights Advocacy”, Ford Foundation, 2002.
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On October 17, 2007, we celebrated the expansion of the Health Clinic. The original clinic had 5 exam rooms and could only serve 6000 clients a year. The expansion created 4 additional exam rooms and we expect to serve up to 12,000 clients by the year 2010.
The AACI Health Clinic originally opened in June of 2000 and provides the ONLY Asian focused community health clinic in the County. Over 80% of our patients are low-income and 78% are non-English speaking or limited English-speaking. The clinic staff provides culturally competent medical care to adults and children. They speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and some Indian dialects in addition to English. The clinic sees patients regardless of their ability to pay.
The expansion of the clinic was made possible by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors who understood the needs of the growing Asian population in Santa Clara County where the Asian population make up more the 30% of the population. They saw the potential of a larger health clinic at AACI, especially for County residents who are low-income and speak limited or no English and secured $325,000 to make the expansion possible.
If you would like to take a tour of our clinic, please contact Tamon Norimoto at (408) 975-2730 ext. 102 or e-mail at
tamon.norimoto@aaci.org to arrange a time.
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Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss awarded AACI and AACI Mental Health Counselor, Samreth Nuon, the Asian American Hero Award on November 2, 2007 at the Quinlan Community Center in Cupertino.
The 2007 Asian American Hero Awards are given by Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss to honor members of the Asian-American community in recognition of their commitment to civic leadership, the arts, education, and health and human services. Awards also go to outstanding community organizations and families or teams that together have made a difference. This award program was conceived by Supervisor Kniss and began in 2001.
Both AACI and Samreth Nuon received this award for demonstrating strong commitment to community based grassroots organizations, exhibiting outstanding examples of civic engagement, and inspiring leadership and community service.
During the presentation of the award to Samreth, Michele Lew, President and CEO of AACI commented, “Samreth is an inspiration to me and to many others in the community. His service to the community for more than 20 years has been extraordinary.”
Samreth has been involved in serving the community for decades. A survivor of the genocide in Cambodia, Samreth has been working tirelessly for refugee and other underserved populations. While he was a refugee in a camp in Thailand, Samreth assisted the aid workers in the camp to provide services to other refugees. Here at AACI, Samreth has been working as a mental health counselor for over 20 years. He is extremely well-respected by his clients and his co-workers for his decades of dedication to the community, his positive attitude, and his sense of humor.
Samreth has also volunteered with the Cambodian New Life Association, helping traumatized refugees from Cambodia transition successfully to life in the U.S. and is also part of the Citizenship Collaborative and is an active member of the Buddhist Society, helping organize many community-building cultural and religious events.
Congratulations AACI and congratulations Samreth! Thank you for all the tireless work that you have done for the community for so many years!
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