The Vietnamese American Service Center (VASC) in San Jose is a unique facility that integrates health care, community wellness, and cultural identity, serving over 100,000 Vietnamese Americans. Open for three years, it has become a trusted space where community members can access medical services alongside social programs, reflecting the community's needs and identity, as expressed by officials like Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong. The center emerged from a health assessment revealing a significant portion of the community lacked access to preventative care and faced barriers in communicating with their health providers.
"When someone asks me to describe it. What is it? Is it a health clinic? Is it a community center? Is it a government center? Is it a cultural center? It's all of the above," said Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong.
"When we become a trusted place by the community, they come for that and learn about other services," said HaNhi Tran, senior manager at the VASC.
"We found that of those who did have health insurance, up to half of them, their health care plan was to go to the emergency department when things got really bad," explained Duong.
"We learned from our community that there was a language gap, a cultural barrier. You want to be treated by doctors and care providers who look like you, who can speak your language," said Duong.
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