Korean Immigrant Helps Asian-Speaking Seniors in Philadelphia Area Stay out of Nursing Homes

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation® Honors Im Ja P. Choi, MS, With a 2011 Community Health Leaders Award

PRINCETON, N.J.—As Im Ja Choi’s mother suffered from stomach cancer, her doctor recommended she be sent to a nursing home for around-the-clock care. Choi had a different opinion. Her mother did not speak English or eat American food, so a nursing home was out of the question. Choi left her career in the financial field to care for her mother full time. Soon she discovered that caring for her mother was too big a job for one person—but finding a Korean-speaking home health aide proved to be a challenge.

“It took me seven months to find a home health aide who could speak Korean,” Choi said. “I hired her immediately, and then all of my friends and my mother’s friends asked, ‘Where did you find her?’ ” None of them could find an aide with that ability. That gave Choi an idea. She created Penn Asian Senior Services (PASSi) to train Asian-speaking home health aides and send them to assist seniors with cleaning, bathing, dressing, and preparing meals. The goal is to help frail Asian American seniors stay in their homes, rather than having to go to a nursing home. Since opening in January 2005 with two part-time employees, Choi’s agency has become one of the largest employers of Asian immigrants in the Philadelphia region, with more than 260 people on its payroll.

For her efforts to improve the lives of Asian American seniors, Choi has been named one of 10 recipients of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders Award. The award honors exceptional men and women who have overcome significant obstacles to tackle some of the most challenging health and health care problems facing their communities. Choi will receive the award during a ceremony in Baltimore, Md., on November 9.

That is a long way from the day Choi arrived in the United States from Korea; she was 22, with less than $15 in her pocket. “My older sisters had to work in factories to pay for my brother’s education,” said Choi, who as the fourth-born sister was the only girl in her family allowed to go to college. “It was why I wanted to come to America. I knew that women have more opportunities and would not be disrespected for their strong character or intelligence here.”

Choi’s agency, PASSi, is just one of many entities she has created to help her community. In 1986, she was one of a group of women who started a domestic violence hotline for Korean American women. In 1996, Choi also founded Women’s Development Institute International, a nonprofit that provided women’s multicultural and educational programs.

Community Health Leaders National Program Director Janice Ford Griffin said that the selection committee honored Choi for her passion for and determination to provide quality health care services to aging Asian Americans. “Im Ja Choi’s concern for clear communication and a culturally sensitive context is a vital element in building trust and stability that contribute to the overall sense of well-being of elderly citizens,” Griffin said. “The training she provides to PASSi caregivers is helping to raise the standard of care throughout Pennsylvania.”

Diane Pirollo, vice president of foundation development at Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia, said that Choi has helped seniors maintain their independence. “By establishing the first home health agency focusing on non-English-speaking Americans in the state of Pennsylvania, Im Ja has created a vehicle for delivering effective long-term health care for local Asian seniors,” Pirollo said. “Now, Asian seniors who need someone’s assistance can choose to remain at home, cared for in a language they understand, instead of going to nursing homes.”

Despite her current success, Choi said her plans to assist Asian American seniors were not easy to implement. “When we tried to become a provider for the Personal Assistance Service (PAS), which the state then granted to only three big agencies in the area, the state said, ‘Why is this needed? We don’t get any calls for this program,’ ” said Choi. “Of course they don’t get calls. These people don’t speak English, and they don’t even know there is an agency they can call.” Today, however, Choi says her new program, which began in late 2009, has added more than 90 clients to her current base of 242 clients, who receive services in eight different Asian languages.

“My next project will be to build a senior center and provide senior day care,” she said, undaunted by the challenge. “Our nursing home system and health care reimbursement system is old-fashioned. Now that people are living longer and healthier, we need a system that will help people stay in their homes longer.” Choi’s mother, the inspiration for her work to help Asian American seniors, died last year at the age of 93. Now Choi’s 91-year-old mother-in-law lives with her.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has honored more than 190 Community Health Leaders since 1993. The work of the nine other 2011 recipients includes a project to help people with disabilities safely and confidently handle routine medical exams in Delaware; a transportation and support program for families with children battling cancer in San Diego; a community initiative to ensure access to medical care in the Kansas farm belt; a campaign for early detection and treatment of breast cancer for uninsured and underserved women in Miami; a nurse training program for disadvantaged Hawaiian students; a rural community health outreach program in the Delta region of Arkansas; an anti-hunger and nutrition program in New Brunswick, N.J.; health education for Mexican Americans in Brooklyn, N.Y.; and health care for the working poor in Altoona, Pa. 

Nominations can be submitted for the 2012 Community Health Leaders Award through November 28, 2011. For details on how to submit a nomination, including eligibility requirements and selection criteria, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation established the Community Health Leaders Award to recognize individuals who overcome daunting obstacles to improve health and health care in their communities. Today, there are more than 190 outstanding Community Health Leaders from nearly all states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable, and timely change. For nearly 40 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

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