Holy Name Press Releases

1300 Asian Residents Flock to Holy Name Medical Center

Asian Health Services Festival Draws Underinsured

September 30, 2015

As in years past, 1,300 Asian residents showed up Saturday, September 27 for Holy Name Medical Center's Health Festival, where they received free screenings and consultations with physicians. The popularity of the 8th annual event has not waned, despite 3,000 Asians signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, with the help of navigators at the hospital, over the past two years.

"Although many people in the Asian community can afford their premiums, their co-pays and deductibles are very high,' said Kyung Hee Choi, Vice President of Asian Health Services. "So they come to the health festival for screenings and to see specialists that might otherwise be very expensive."

Each year, more than 1,000 people come to the hospital one or two weeks before the festival to have their blood drawn and undergo additional screenings such as thyroid sonograms, digital prostate exams, eye tests, hemorrhoid, dental and foot exams. The blood work tests for 35 markers, including cholesterol levels, anemia, diabetes, liver and kidney function and hepatitis B. They receive their results at the health festival, when typically another few hundred people show up for non-invasive screenings such as blood pressure readings.

"Although we still get some uninsured people, most of those who come to the festival are underinsured," Ms. Choi said. "And I don't think that's going to change much because this population needs these screenings and some just can't afford them."

More than 75 physicians, technicians, and nursing students, along with hundreds of people from the Asian community, volunteer for the festival. Participants started lining up at 4:30 a.m. for the event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.