Apicha

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Apicha Community Health Center
Founded1989; 36 years ago (1989)[1]
Typecommunity health center
Legal status501(c)(3)[2]
PurposeTo provide high quality, equitable, whole person, and culturally responsive care delivered in an inclusive and welcoming manner
HeadquartersNew York City
CEO
Therese R. Rodriguez[1]
Revenue$19,562,006[2] (in 2023)
Expenses$17,741,199[2] (in 2023)
Employees174[2] (in 2023)
Volunteers54[2] (in 2023)
Websitehttps://www.apicha.org/
Formerly called
Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/ AIDS (APICHA)

Apicha or Apicha Community Health Center is a community health center located in New York City. Founded in 1989 as the Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Apicha was initially an AIDS services organization focusing on the needs of the Asian Pacific Islander community. Around 2009, Apicha transitioned into a community health center providing care to multiple marginalized communities, eventually becoming a federally qualified health center (FQHC).

History

1989-2008: AIDS Services Organization

In 1989, Apicha was founded as the Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS to provide HIV/AIDS services to the Asian Pacific Islander (API) community. According to the founders, healthcare providers were treating the API community as a single group and were not addressing the unique cultural needs of the multiple, diverse API communities. Apicha aimed to provide services tailored to distinct Asian communities, for example by offering services in multiple Asian languages. For the first few years, their work consisted primarily of volunteers providing HIV prevention education in neighborhoods with large Asian populations, including Sunset Park and Chinatown.[3] In the 1980s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported race data for 3 groups—Black, White, and Other.[4][5] Apicha allied with members of the Native American community to lobby James O. Mason to order the CDC to report data about two additional groups—Asian and Pacific Islanders and Native Americans.[6][4][7] Their efforts were successful, making it possible to estimate the impact of HIV/AIDS on these two communities.[6] In 1996, Apicha won a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).[3][8] With the additional funding, Apicha was able to open a community center and expand their staff and services.[3] The grant funded the Bridges Project, which was designed to mitigate various obstacles to accessing medical services faced by APIs living with HIV. Through the Bridges Project, Apicha staff assisted APIs with HIV to receive care at partner organizations by providing escorts, language services, and help with applying for benefits. Additionally, Apicha trained staff at the partner organizations in cultural competence.[9][8] A later program evaluation of the Bridges Project found that Apicha was successful in increasing the number of services received by APIs who were undocumented or had limited English proficiency.[9] Therese R. Rodriguez became Apicha's Chief Executive Officer in 1997, a position she still holds as of 2024.[10][1] By 2000, Apicha had 75 peer educators who spoke multiple Asian languages, including Bengali, Tagalog, and Chinese dialects. Apicha continued to provide HIV education through various means, including meeting with community leaders, talking with taxi drivers, and tabling at street fairs.[11] Apicha also provided case management and support services for people with HIV.[12] In 2003, Apicha began offering medical services for the first time at their primary care clinic for people with HIV.[13][14]

2009-Present: Transition to community health center

Social Media Ad Controversy

In 2019, Apicha attempted to promote ads on social media discussing the benefits of PrEP, a drug used for HIV prevention.[15][16] The ad, part of a PrEP awareness campaign funded by the New York State Department of Health, was designed to reach API men who have sex with men. Twitter initially rejected the ad for containing Adult Content, but overturned this decision upon Apicha's appeal.[17][18] Facebook blocked the ads as "political" and required them to go through an additional verification process. Apicha noted that their long-running ads promoting PrEP to women had not been similarly blocked by Facebook.[15] Eventually Facebook approved the ads, and Apicha credited the news coverage of the controversy with increasing the social media campaign's reach.[15][18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About | Apicha Community Health Center". APICHA. Retrieved Nov 12, 2024.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Apicha Community Health Center - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 LEWINE, EDWARD (1997-04-20). "Asian Group Targets AIDS". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Takayasu, Sach (2022-01-12). "Oral History Uncovers Cultural Complexity in Fighting HIV/AIDS". Columbia Oral History Master of Arts. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  5. ↑ "observed race question" (PDF). CDC Archives. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chin, John J.; Leung, ManChui; Sheth, Lina; Rodriguez, Therese R. (2007-09-01). "Let's Not Ignore a Growing HIV Problem for Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S." Journal of Urban Health. 84 (5): 642–647. doi:10.1007/s11524-007-9200-8. ISSN 1468-2869. PMC 2231847. PMID 17551840.
  7. ↑ "History of APICHA Page 1". APICHA. Archived from the original on 2010-06-03.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "History of APICHA Page 2". APICHA. Archived from the original on 2010-07-11.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chin, John J.; Kang, Ezer; Kim, Jennifer Haejin; Martinez, John; Eckholdt, Haftan (November 2006). "Serving Asians and Pacific Islanders with HIV/AIDS: challenges and lessons learned". Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 17 (4): 910–927. doi:10.1353/hpu.2006.0119. ISSN 1049-2089. PMID 17242538.
  10. ↑ "2023 Power Players in Health Care". PoliticsNY. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  11. ↑ Wong, Edward (2000-08-07). "Barriers Hindering the Education of Asian-Americans About AIDS". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  12. ↑ "History of APICHA Page 4". APICHA. Archived from the original on 2010-07-11.
  13. ↑ Inada, Victor. (2007). If you build it, will they come? -- The APICHA Primary Care Clinic: From inception to strategic expansion. Presented at APHA Conference.
  14. ↑ Terrell, Kellee (2012-05-17). "HIV Frontlines: Addressing the Needs of the API Community in New York City". TheBody. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Wheeler, André (2019-10-31). "Facebook under fire after ads for anti-HIV drug PrEP deemed political". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  16. ↑ Hunter, Tatum (2021-07-23). "Instagram is giving you more control over 'sensitive content.' Here's how to turn it off — or dial it up". Washington Post.
  17. ↑ Walker, Harron (2019-10-25). "Instagram Rejects a PrEP Awareness Campaign; Claims It Contains 'Politics'". VICE. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Straube, Trent (2019-10-31). "Banned by Facebook! What Could Be Wrong With These PrEP Ads?". POZ. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
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