by Sharon Brock
The UCSF Asian Heart and Vascular Center, located at UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, held its grand opening celebration on Wednesday, May 10. This is the first center in the country to focus on the specific cardiovascular needs of Asian Pacific Islanders.
Making up approximately one-third (32.6 percent) of San Francisco's population, Asians are one of the Bay Area's fastest growing minority groups, and heart disease is their leading killer.
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| Diana Lau, administrative director, Asian Heart and Vascular Center, Gordon Fung, director, Asian Heart and Vascular Center, and Karen Rago, administrative director, Heart & Vascular Center. |
"Many people in the Asian population are at risk, and they don't receive the medical care they deserve because it's not in their language and it's not presented in a way that is respectful of their culture," said Gordon Fung, MD, MPH, director of the new center. "Our goal is to provide culturally sensitive, language-appropriate treatment and education."
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| Mark Laret |
Although Asians share similar risk factors with other groups, such as hypertension, obesity, diabetes and smoking, studies have shown cultural, genetic and physiological risk factors unique to this population. The center's research will focus on identifying these factors to provide more effective prevention and treatment services.
Training programs will be offered to health care providers to become experts in the cardiovascular health of Asian Pacific Islanders, to meet the needs of this growing population. The center will also be a leadership institution to develop partnerships with policymakers and existing Bay Area organizations, and to establish education and outreach programs in local Asian communities.
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Keynote speaker Xiaocheng Liu, MD, CEO of the TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital in Tianjin, China, discussed the design and programs of his hospital, which opened two and a half years ago and served as a model for UCSF. Additional speakers included UCSF Medical Center CEO Mark Laret, Miss Chinatown 2006 Tiffani Mah, who led a local troupe of lion dancers on the drums, and San Francisco-based State Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Leland Y. Yee.
"This institution is sensitive not only to the language, but the varying cultures of the Asian population," said Yee. "This is a way to say you are welcome and you are a part of the San Francisco community."
Photos by Noah Berger
