Overview
As the Asian population in Bergen County and the surrounding area continues to expand, Holy Name Medical Center is addressing the community's medical needs with a comprehensive, robust program, Asian Health Services (AHS). Through AHS, Holy Name provides Asian patients with high quality health care in their native language and in an environment sensitive to their culture.
The AHS evolved after the adept implementation and ongoing success of the Korean Medical Program (KMP), formed in 2008 at Holy Name, and now serving thousands of Korean Americans. In addition to having Korean-speaking customer representatives, the Medical Center also offers Korean cuisine on the hospital menu, Korean television channels and newspapers in patients' rooms, and bilingual drivers to transport elderly people from their homes to Holy Name. More importantly, after KMP physicians found several illnesses such as diabetes, breast cancer, and others to be more prevalent in the community, they started screening and treatment programs to address the diseases.
Spurred by the success of the KMP, hospital administrators and physicians launched the Chinese Medical Program (CMP) in 2015 in response to the rapidly growing Chinese population, which swelled by 34 percent statewide between 2000 and 2010. Like the KMP, the CMP is providing a customer representative to guide patients when they first arrive at Holy Name, as well as Chinese cuisine, television stations and newspapers.
Demand continued to rise for additional Asian-centered services, prompting Asian Health Services physicians and staff to create the Filipino Medical Program (FMP), the Indian Medical Program (IMP) and the Japanese Medical Program (JMP) in 2016 and 2017. As with the KMP and CMP, patients receive health care complimented with customary traditional amenities.
Offering medical services in patients' native language along with these cultural comforts has made patients feel more comfortable at the Medical Center, inspired them to undergo preventive screenings and helped them to be more proactive in maintaining their health. The KMP, CMP, FMP, IMP and JMP all fall under the Asian Health Services umbrella, which honors the uniqueness of every individual. By personalizing care, AHS engenders trust and a sense of security, making patients feel at home in "their" hospital, Holy Name Medical Center.
