Asian Community Development Center inaugurates primary health care services to the Las Vegas Valley's AAPI community


01/03/2023


The Asian Community Development Center (ACDC), the leading non-profit organization serving the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Southern Nevada, recently celebrated the grand opening of its Healthy Asians & Pacific Islanders (HAPI) Medical Center. The HAPI Medical Center, which has been in the works for several years, provides primary health care services to the Las Vegas Valley's AAPI community, with a 100% bilingual staff that can provide care in Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, and more languages to come.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and First Lady Kathy Sisolak attended the grand opening, as did Congressman Steven Horsford, Congresswoman Susie Lee, Assemblywoman Brittney Miller, Assemblywoman Rochelle Nguyen, and Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones.

Speakers at the ceremony shared their experiences as children translating for family members at medical appointments, as well as the difficulty AAPI community members face in finding care delivered in their preferred language.

The Healthy Asians & Pacific Islanders Medical Center's mission is to provide high-quality, linguistically and culturally accessible health services to the underserved, uninsured, and underinsured populations in the Las Vegas Valley. It is located near the heart of the AAPI community in Las Vegas. Residents of the community who visit the HAPI Medical Center will be asked which language they prefer and then paired with an in-language care provider who understands cultural differences and how to complement Western medicine with Eastern practices, if desired.

“Too often, our community residents have to rely on a family member, frequently a child, to help them understand their medical providers and care,” said Vida Lin, founder and president of ACDC.

“Since I founded ACDC in 2015 in Southern Nevada, I have wanted to establish a new health care resource for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities to help break down the barriers that prevent people from receiving the high-quality care they need and deserve. The opening of the HAPI Medical Center is a dream come true for me, and I thank Sands for the support to make this much-needed resource a reality.”

Sands gave $100,000 to ACDC earlier this year through Sands Cares to help fund the opening of the Healthy Asians & Pacific Islanders Medical Center, as part of the company's overall 2022 partnership, which also included ACDC's language bank and in-language hotline. Sands Cares funding assisted ACDC in launching the language bank in 2021 to facilitate connections to critical social services for AAPI residents in Southern Nevada. Both programs reflect Sands Cares' commitment to assisting non-profit organizations in expanding their capacity and removing systemic barriers for diverse communities.

The Healthy Asians & Pacific Islanders Medical Center, located at 8863 W. Flamingo Rd. Suite 101, is now open to provide care Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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