Asian American Health Initiative Newsletter
 
March 2014
Volume 4, Issue 5
Quick Links:
 

Community Blog






Upcoming Events:

 

April 5Ama Tu Vida Multicultural Health Festival
April 6 - Korean Community Service Center (KCSC) Active Care and Treatment of Hepatitis B (ACT Hep B) Results Day & Vaccination #1 at New Covenant Fellowship Church

April 10 - Weller Road Elementary School Health Fair

April 12 - Cambodian Buddhist Society New Year Celebration

April 13 - KCSC ACT Hep B Results Day & Vaccination #1 at St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church

April 13 - Wat Thai DC Songkran New Year Celebration

April 16 - Montgomery College Rockville Campus Wellness Fair

April 20 - Viet Nam Medical Assistance Program (VNMAP) Screening, Management, Awareness, and Solutions for Hepatitis B (SMASH-B) Vaccination #2 Day

April 26 - Global Mission Church Annual Bazaar

May 4 - KCSC ACT Hep B Vaccination #2 at New Covenant Fellowship Church

May 11 - KCSC ACT Hep B Vaccination #2 at St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church

 

  

Check out our calendar of events for more information.

Past Highlights:
 

January 12 - VNMAP SMASH-B Education and Screening Day

January 18 - Affordable Care Act (ACA) Presentation for Montgomery County Residents at The Japanese American CareFund

January 19 - Resource Table at the Association of Vietnamese Americans (AVA) Vietnamese Lunar New Year "Tet" Festival

January 23 - ACA Small Business Outreach with VNMAP Volunteers

February 5 & 7 - Heart Health education article published in newspapers: 

Epoch Times, India This Week, Korea Daily , and Tre MDVADC Magazine 

February 9 - Chinese Culture and Community Service Center (CCACC) Lunar New Year Community Service Fair at Lakeforest Mall

February 11 - Heart Health education article published in Migrant Heritage Chronicle e-newspapers

February 11 - ACA Outreach to AAHI Community Partners

February 23 - AAHI101 and ACA Presentation at the Islamic Center of Maryland (ICM)

February 27 - Health Promoter Training

March 2 - KCSC ACT Hep B Education & Screening Day at New Covenant Fellowship Church

March 9 - KCSC ACT Hep B Education & Screening Day at St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church

March 16 - VNMAP SMASH-B Results Day & Vaccination #1 

March 22 - AAHI101 and Community Resources Presentation at Hope Chinese School

March 22 - Chinese American Senior Services Association (CASSA) Health Check-Up #16

March 30 - Muslim Community Center (MCC) Community Education Series - Heart Health Lecture

Greetings!

 

AAHI hopes you had a safe and warm winter! We are excited to swing into spring and are looking forward to more outreach events and activities in the months ahead. In addition, AAHI welcomed a new intern, Sarah Tran, to our team. You can read her introduction on our blog

 

Remember, you can stay connected with AAHI through our blog. You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

 

Save the Date! 
"Mental Health in Our Communities" Workshop

Empowering Community Health Organizations (E.C.H.O.) Project

Wednesday, May 21, 2014 from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm

 

On May 21st, the Montgomery County Department of Health

and Human Services' African American Health Program, Asian American Health Initiative, and Latino Health Initiative will host a workshop on mental health as part of the E.C.H.O. Project 2014. Launched in 2011, E.C.H.O. is a series of practical and professional training workshops aimed to build the capacity and sustainability of community organizations.

 

For more information, stay tuned to our social media or contact AAHI Office Services Coordinator, Shannon Lee at Shannon.Lee@montgomerycountymd.gov.

 

Photos from our previous E.C.H.O. workshop can be found on our blog and the summary can be found on our website.

 
Hepatitis B Disparities Among Asian Americans

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hepatitis B affects 1 in 12 Asian Americans. Unfortunately, as many as 2 in 3 Asian Americans with hepatitis B do not know they are infected. 
  
In FY14, AAHI is partnering with three community organizations on hepatitis B projects: the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center's (CCACC) Screening, Treatment, Outreach, and Prevention of Hepatitis B (STOP B); the Korean Community Service Center's (KCSC) Active Care and Treatment of Hepatitis B (ACT Hep B); and the Viet Nam Medical Assistance Program's (VNMAP) Screening, Management, Awareness, and Solutions for Hepatitis B (SMASH-B). KCSC and VNMAP recently conducted hepatitis B education and screening days for the community. The community members first listened to a hepatitis B health education lecture and then proceeded to get their free screenings. After being screened, community members had the opportunity to visit AAHI's outreach table which provided information about various health topics. The events were a great success!
  
CCACC, KCSC, and VNMAP provided free hepatitis B screenings to over 270 participants! In the next step, participants will receive their screening results from a volunteer bilingual physician and, if necessary, receive the 3-shot hepatitis B vaccination series for free.

To learn more about our past hepatitis B efforts with community partners, please visit AAHI's Publications page. For upcoming events, please check our calendar.
 
AAHI and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

As open enrollment for 2014 ACA coverage comes to a close, AAHI has reflected on the opportunities we have had to help the community learn more about the ACA. According to the 2012 American Community Survey, 70.6% of Asian American residents in Montgomery County are foreign-born. Therefore, it is important that ACA information is both culturally and linguistically appropriate. Through various outreach events and activities, AAHI has accomplished:
  • 1,001 pieces of multi-lingual literature distributed
  • 657 educational encounters
  • 133 referrals
For future updates about the ACA, please visit online at the Maryland Health Connection or the Capital Region Health Connector.

Stay tuned to our blog, Facebook, and Twitter for more upcoming information.
 

Sincerely,

 

AAHI Staff

Asian American Health Initiative

Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services