LOS ANGELES - The Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, a community non-profit health center located in East Hollywood, conducted its fifth health fair at the Rizal Hall of the Philippine Consulate General Office here recently. The health fair was called “Pagpapahalaga Sa Kalusugan ng Pamilya (Giving Importance to Family’s Health)” and was held in partnership with the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.
“It’s a health fair exclusively intended for Filipinos, so that we could reach out to our community and emphasize that prevention is best; it is better than medicine,” said Marilyn Johns, an APHCV outreach worker who established the health fair five years ago. The goal of the free health fair was to reach out to Filipinos that are marginalized and underserved. “Ang mga kababayan natin na walang insurance, yung mga bagong dating at hindi pa nakapaghahanap ng trabaho at walang kakayahan na magpatingin sa doktor,” Johns informed the Asian Journal. (Our Filipino countrymen that do not have medical insurance; those who have just arrived here and have not found jobs yet, and cannot afford to see a doctor).
Some of the services and activities provided during the two-and-a-half day fair included blood pressure screening, glucose screening, BMI screening, on-site osteoporosis screening, on-site oral health counseling, and Bone Marrow Registration. APHCV workers also provided information on enrolling seniors and children into health care programs such as Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Healthy Kids, and Medicare, WIC, Food Stamps, mammograms and pap smears, nutrition education for diabetics and obesity prevention, parenting workshops, CPR training, APHCV clinical services, HIV prevention, family planning and counseling.
The most common ailment that plagues Filipinos is diabetes, according to Johns. “This is because of our diet,” Johns explains. “Ang spaghetti natin may sugar pa. Mahilig tayo sa matamis. Masarap tayong kumain ng kanin at mga kakanin. (We add sugar to our spaghetti. We love sweets and we eat a lot of rice and native delicacies). Those are loaded with sugar,” she said.
Johns said that breast cancer is the number one killer among Filipino women. The clinic offers free mammogram to qualified women aged 40 and older..
We owe a lot of favors to members of the media like you,” Johns informed journalists who covered the opening day of the fair. “We have Goldilocks, which has consistently donated products since our first fair five years ago. There’s Mommy Lucing of Bahay Kubo Natin Restaurant. She is so generous with the food,” Johns acknowledged.
The clinic, like other safety net organizations that depend on government funding and grants from charitable foundations, is suffering from state budget cuts. “We have lost around $300,000 to $400,000 because we have to continue to provide those PPP patients with free services, and we have earned this reputation as a free clinic,” Johns told the Asian Journal. APHCV was established in 1986 and obtained a Federal 330 grant from the Federal Bureau of Primary Health Care to begin providing primary care services. It is located on Hillhurst Avenue in East Hollywood. For more details about the health fair, call (323) 644-3880 ext. 229 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . (www.asianjournal.com)
(Published November 1, 2008, p.B14 LAWKND)
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