Submitted by Dina Kianiazar of American Pacific Health Foundation

The American Pacific Health Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of vulnerable groups in San Diego County. It began as the Asian Pacific Health Center in 2001 with the goal of providing low-cost medical care to underserved populations in San Diego.

In 2008, the Center evolved into the Foundation it is today, working to advance health equity by providing health education and free health screenings for vision, hepatitis B/C, metabolic syndromes, and tuberculosis across San Diego by hosting clinical community health outreach events across the County. It is through awareness, screening, and education that the American Pacific Health Foundation strives to establish a linkage of care for vulnerable groups. 

Annually, the Foundation serves 200-300 individuals at outreach events, with the help of over 100 volunteers ranging from undergraduate students to pharmacy and medical students.

Volunteers not only have the opportunity to gain hands-on clinical experience by working alongside physicians and pharmacists to conduct health screenings and interact with a broad range of community members, but they are also free to explore other opportunities, including the Foundation’s marketing committee or medical translators program.

American Pacific Health Foundation also strives to promote health education to create a linkage to care and establish preventative care opportunities for the community. Volunteers can join this effort by helping create an online web-application to educate users on preventative measures and testing surrounding Hepatitis B infection, or leading education sessions to mitigate tuberculosis spread in San Diego.

When American Pacific Health Foundation volunteers are not setting up clinical outreach events to screen underserved populations, they are volunteering at local community events, like the San Diego Têt Festival or the upcoming Khmer New Year’s Festival.

Winnie Gong, who has been a part of the organization since 2019 as a third year undergraduate student, has characterized her experience with the Foundation as “an incredible opportunity to not only bridge the healthcare gap for communities in need, but also to grow as an individual and leader.”

Gong began her time a American Pacific Health Foundation as a volunteer at health screening events. Through her involvement in projects like the creation of a high school volunteer program and the development of HealthTransmission as an online community education tool, she now serves as its Co-Director of Operations.

American Pacific Health Foundation fosters an environment of compassion, collaboration, and leadership, providing volunteers the opportunity to give back to the San Diego community by contributing with any skill or interest volunteers are able to present.

If interested in joining the American Pacific Health Foundation community as a volunteer or learning more about what they have to offer, please visit: aphfsd.org.

Or, reach out via email at info@aphfsd.org.