Holy Name Press Releases

Holy Name Medical Center is National Model for Culturally-Sensitive Care

Korean Medical Program Serving 45,000 Korean-Americans

August 26, 2015

Administrators from the California hospital, City of Hope, recently visited Holy Name Medical Center to meet with Kyung Hee Choi, Vice President of Asian Health Services, and her staff to gain insight on launching a Korean medical program in their facility. Mrs. Choi established the Korean Medical Program at Holy Name and continues to guide it, a national model for culturally-sensitive health care.

"We offer a standard of care at Holy Name that Korean-Americans can't find anywhere else in the New York/New Jersey area," said Michael Maron, president and CEO of Holy Name. "As one of the most comprehensive programs in our region, it has seen a tremendous increase in patient volume from the first year, a direct result of our inclusive compassionate care and the cooperative efforts of physicians, staff, and volunteers, as well as our philanthropic partners."

The Korean Medical Program, established at Holy Name in 2008 with 35 Korean-American physicians, has now grown to include 90 doctors seeing more than 45,000 Korean-American patients at the main campus and two satellite centers. Its success led to the creation of the hospital's Asian Health Services last year, which now also includes a Chinese Medical Program and is rapidly expanding, drawing Asians from across the region.

When meeting with City of Hope administrators, Mrs. Choi outlined the steps taken to create the Korean Medical Program at Holy Name, including having a thorough knowledge of the community and its population-specific needs, while understanding the obstacles many Koreans face in seeking medical attention from area hospitals. Before kicking off much-needed community outreach efforts, Mrs. Choi had a strong network of Korean physicians and the support of hospital administrators and board members.

"It is also vitally important that all clinicians are trained to be culturally sensitive," Mrs. Choi said. "For example, our staff learned not to serve ice water but rather warm liquids, not to place a Korean patient in a room numbered "4," and not to write the patient's name in red, which to many Koreans may indicate a terminal illness."

In addition to City of Hope, other hospitals from across the country, including the University of Chicago Medical Center, North Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Hackensack University Medical Center, New York Hospital of Queens, Monmouth Medical Center, and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center have looked to Holy Name as a model to establish their own culturally-based programs.