For Immediate Release
June 24, 2013
Please contact: Rui Zhang, Communication and Policy Assistant | rzhang@asiaohio.org | 330-535-3263 x 224

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ASIA-ICHC Receives Support from the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation

CLEVELAND, Ohio – ASIA is thrilled to announce that it has received a multi-year $75,000 lead gift from the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation for support of the International Community Health Center (ICHC).   ICHC will provide comprehensive primary care health services to low-income, under-served, limited English proficient Asian Americans and others who confront language and cultural barriers to care.  The gift will enable ICHC to build sustainability by integrating electronic health records and practice management system.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that the Asian population in the State of Ohio rose by nearly 8,000, or 3.1 percent, over the previous year to 257,584. Access to health care is a crucial concern among this growing population, especially in Greater Cleveland. “One of the unique challenges of the Asian community, especially those who are newly arriving, is navigating the American health care system” said Michael Byun, executive director of ASIA, “Furthermore, there is a five-year waiting bar for lawful permanent residents to access public assistance available to other Americans.  Our community members who are low-income working poor are especially vulnerable having limited or no access to quality preventative and primary health care.”

ICHC is scheduled to open late summer.  The charitable clinic will be located at 3820 Superior Avenue in the Asian Town Center in the City of Cleveland’s AsiaTown neighborhood. The innovation of ICHC will come from the delivery of linguistically and culturally appropriate primary care services to the neediest. “We have been documenting over the last several years Asian individuals in this area taking a daily chartered bus to New York City’s Chinatown where there are culturally and linguistically specific health care services,” said Byun. “This is a major problem. As a community, we need to be able to support the health care needs of this population so that they can be important contributors to the local economy, to help build businesses and create jobs.”

ICHC services will be offered on a sliding scale; no services will be denied because of a client’s inability to pay. ICHC will evolve into a complete patient-centered medical home offering wraparound supportive services such as transportation, employment, and access to eligible public benefits.

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Asian Services In Action
Founded in 1995, Asian Services In Action’s mission is to empower and advocate for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders (AAPIs); and to provide AAPIs access to quality, culturally, and linguistically appropriate information and services. Visit www.asiaohio.org to learn more.  Follow ASIA on Facebook and Twitter!

The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation
The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation is a charitable trust dedicated to the support and advancement of healthcare, primarily in the greater Cleveland community. The Foundation awards monetary grants to qualifying institutions and agencies for initiatives designed to improve healthcare quality or delivery, for programs which provide access to healthcare to the underserved or indigent, or for medical research.