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James R. Matthews (1st from L), Chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, was joined by Im Ja Choi (2nd from R), PASSi Executive Director at the Community Appreciation Night.
Montgomery County resident Mr. Won Su Rhee is an 80-year-old Korean American being served by PASSi since 2005.
Dozens of Asian seniors participated in the Appreciation Night to thank supporters, who enabled PASSi to provide home care for themselves.
Eric Cormiere (third from L), General Manager of Aetna's Mid-Atlantic Region's Consumer. Cormiere presented a $25,000 grant check to PASSi board members.
MONTGOMERY, PA—At this holiday season, Asian seniors in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania said they have a lot to be thankful for. Dozens of Asian seniors living at Sandy Hill Terrance attended the Penn Asian Senior Services (PASSi ) Community Appreciation Night, Nov. 30, to thank James R. Matthews, Chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
Matthews was instrumental in making the nation’s first and only home care agency a reality for Asian American seniors, who are disadvantaged by cultural and language barriers. In 2004, he provided the much-needed start-up funding to help Im Ja Choi, PASSi Executive Director, establish community-based services for frail Asians seniors. Today, the agency serves over 140 Asian seniors who would otherwise have no access to culturally appropriate home care. The seniors being served by PASSi represent diverse Asian cultural backgrounds: Korean, Chinese, Cambodian, Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese and Vietnamese.
“Matthews has enabled Asian seniors to have healthy and dignified life, living at home [rather than at a nursing home]. The funding and support that he has provided to PASSi allowed us to offer home care to Asian seniors in the language they speak, and the environment that they feel comfortable,” said Im Ja Choi. Choi created PASSi in 2005, after undergoing her own personal experience in caring for her 91-year-old mother.
In a speech that sparkled even through translation, Matthews made reference to John F. Kennedy’s quote about those concerned and those who are comfortable. Matthews clearly identified with those concerned, and doing something for the well-being of a community that is disadvantaged by language and cultural barriers. Approval of his words was indicated by the nodding from the Asian seniors in the audience.
Mr. Won Su Rhee, an 80 year old Korean American senior, is among those who benefited from Matthew’s concerns. Rhee, who came to the U.S. from South Korea, is one of the first Asian seniors served by PASSi five years ago. “They make me feel at home. I am very happy.” Trained in the ordnance school at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, Rhee served 21 years in the military before his retirement.
Rhee said PASSi personnel pay regular visits to him at the senior center, provide in-home care for ailing seniors, and organize activities to keep them active. “I am enjoying my life here. You can’t get this kind of life in a communist country.” Rhee is a native of North Korea who escaped to South Korea in 1957 to avoid communism. Seeking freedom and a better life is the common reason for Asians to immigrate to the U.S.
PASSi trains 179 home health aides and 85 nurse aides from new immigrant communities. “These trained health-care workers are able to fill an important healthcare need of a growing and increasingly diverse aging community,” Choi said.
The event featured a health information session, “Asians and Diabetes,” funded by Aetna Foundation. Eric Cormiere, General Manager of Aetna’s Mid-Atlantic Region's Consumer Segment, presented a $25,000 grant check to PASSi board members at the event. Daniel Reavy, Director of External Affairs at Verizon, was also recognized for the company’s continuous support for PASSi’s work.
