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Apicha Community Health Center
Founded1989; 35 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 (2023)
$19,562,006[2]
Expenses (2023)$17,741,199[2]
Employees (2023)
174[2]
Volunteers (2023)
54[2]
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

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1989-2008: AIDS Services Organization

[edit]

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

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Around 2009, Apicha transitioned from an AIDS services organization into a community health center for underserved communities, particularly the LGBTQ community, people with HIV, APIs, and other people of color.[15][16] Two years later, the organization opened a trans health clinic with funding from the Paul Rapaport Foundation.[17][18][19] The clinic provides primary care, mental health, hormone therapy, and support services for the transgender community as well as cultural competence trainings for partner organizations.[20][21] For some time, the trans health clinic was managed by Cecilia Gentili, who expanded the number of patients from a handful to several hundred.[22][23][24] After receiving a New Access Point grant from HRSA to provide primary care to underserved populations,[15][25] Apicha became a federally qualified health center in 2015.[26][27][28]

In 2017, Apicha expanded their community health center in Chinatown and planned for a second location in Jackson Heights.[29][26] Around this time, more than 70% of their clients were LGBTQ and a third were API.[30] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Apicha delivered services virtually. Additionally they provided COVID-19 services like testing, PPE, and vaccination.[31] New York State awarded the organization $1 million to increase vaccination in the API community through outreach and education.[32] A second Apicha community health center opened in Jackson Heights in 2023.[16][33]

Social Media Ad Controversy

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In 2019, Apicha attempted to promote ads on social media discussing the benefits of PrEP, a drug used for HIV prevention.[34][35] 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.[36][37] 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.[34]

Facebook's actions have been criticized by members of the LGBTQ and healthcare community, including Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical company that produces the PrEP drug Truvada.[38][39][34][40] A Facebook spokesperson stated that the additional verification process was necessary due to users who had "abused" topics related to social issues, including equal access to healthcare, during the 2016 elections.[34][36] Reporting about the controversy noted that Facebook has also blocked ads posted by LGBTQ groups,[34] allowed ads about a Truvada-related lawsuit,[41] and allowed false political claims.[39][36][41]

Eventually Facebook approved the ads, and Apicha credited the news coverage of the controversy with increasing the social media campaign's reach.[34][37]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "About | Apicha Community Health Center". APICHA. Retrieved Nov 12, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Apicha Community Health Center - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  3. ^ a b c LEWINE, EDWARD (1997-04-20). "Asian Group Targets AIDS". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29.
  4. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "History of APICHA Page 2". APICHA. Archived from the original on 2010-07-11.
  9. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Feds give key funding to NY health center with Fil-Am CEO". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  16. ^ a b dorgan, michael (2023-05-02). "Community health center for AAPI, LGBT community opens in Jackson Heights". Queens Post. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  17. ^ "APICHA to Open Transgender Clinic". POZ. 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  18. ^ "Fil-Am led health center gets $6M NY state grant". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  19. ^ "Ending the Epidemic Task Force Members" (PDF). New York State Department of Health.
  20. ^ "HIV/AIDS Community Spotlight: People Who Made a Difference in 2011". TheBody. 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  21. ^ D'AMBROSIO, AMANDA; NEBER, JACQUELINE (2023-06-02). "Transgender patients have more options for care in NYC, but access remains limited". Crain's New York. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06.
  22. ^ Green, Penelope (2024-02-12). "Cecilia Gentili, Transgender Activist, Performer and Author, Dies at 52". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-02-17.
  23. ^ Cerro, Ximena Del (2022-09-07). "Meet the first of 8 Brooklyn finalists for the David Prize: transgender advocate Cecilia Gentili". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  24. ^ Tracy, Matt (2024-02-06). "Cecilia Gentili, longtime advocate for trans people, immigrants, and sex workers, dies at 52". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  25. ^ Schindler, Paul (2015-08-20). "Two City LGBT Health Centers Win Obamacare Funding". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  26. ^ a b Cohen, Jason (2017-05-12). "Healthcare facility that's opening in Jackson Heights next year gets $50K in state funds from Peralta". Jackson Heights Post. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  27. ^ Visaya, Moma (2016-06-08). "Health center honors Miss Universe, model, NY city councilor". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  28. ^ Schindler, Paul (2016-12-08). "Obamacare Demise's Impact on LGBTQ Health Access". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  29. ^ "Apicha Expands in Chinatown; In 2018, Jackson Heights". Gay City News. 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  30. ^ Schindler, Paul (2016-07-21). "Bringing LGBT Healthcare to the Boroughs". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  31. ^ Wong, Jennifer A.; Yi, Stella S.; Kwon, Simona C.; Islam, Nadia S.; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau; Đoàn, Lan N. (2022). "COVID-19 and Asian Americans: Reinforcing the Role of Community-Based Organizations in Providing Culturally and Linguistically Centered Care". Health Equity. 6 (1): 278–290. doi:10.1089/heq.2021.0124. ISSN 2473-1242. PMC 8985534. PMID 35402769.
  32. ^ "'Trusted Messengers': How Community Groups Plan to Increase Vaccination Rates in New York". City Limits. 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  33. ^ "Filipina-led Apicha Health Center opens second facility in New York". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  34. ^ a b c d e f 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.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ a b c Walker, Harron (2019-10-25). "Instagram Rejects a PrEP Awareness Campaign; Claims It Contains 'Politics'". VICE. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  37. ^ a b Straube, Trent (2019-10-31). "Banned by Facebook! What Could Be Wrong With These PrEP Ads?". POZ. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  38. ^ "Facebook Won't Ban Fake News, But They Will Ban PrEP Ads". Out Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  39. ^ a b Smith, Reiss (2019-10-28). "Facebook rejects PrEP awareness campaign but will allow politicians to post lies". PinkNews. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  40. ^ Tracy, Matt (2019-12-10). "LGBTQ Groups to Zuckerberg: Remove Misleading PrEP Ads – Gay City News". Gay City News. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  41. ^ a b Kim, Michelle Hyun (2019-10-31). "Facebook and Instagram Reject PrEP Ads for Being "Political"". Them. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
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