Thursday, March 25, 2010

AAHI Welcomes New Program Specialist, Jamie Lok




Jamie Lok, MPH, CHES
Hello! My name is Jamie Lok and I am the Program Specialist for the Asian American Health Initiative. Before joining AAHI, I was a senior research program coordinator at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I am very passionate about advocating on behalf of the Asian American community, especially regarding health-related concerns. I am actively involved in a variety of local and national organizations including the University of Maryland’s Alumni Association’s newly chartered Asian Pacific American Alumni Network (APAAN) and the American Public Health Association. Currently, I am overwhelmed with planning for my summer wedding, but can’t wait for the big day! I am looking forward to this new challenge with the AAHI to assess and ensure that the health care needs of AAs in Montgomery County are being met.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

County Executive, Ike Leggett, Signs Executive Order on Language Access



March 4th, 2010, marks a historic day for Montgomery County residents. On this day, County Executive, Ike Leggettt, signed Executive Order 046-10 to improve language access, awareness, and accountability to County residents with limited-English proficiency (LEP).
In attendance along with Ike Legget were County Council President Nancy Floreen, Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Alex Sanchez, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Office of Civil Rights Leon Rodriguez and community leaders.
From AAHI, Julie Bawa attended this event along with intern Atyya Chaudhry.

For more information about the executive order please visit this site:
http://montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/News/press/PR_details.asp?PrID=6353

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Montgomery General Health Fair










We want to thank Montgomery General Hospital for inviting us to participate in this year’s health fair. The health fair was held on Saturday, February 27th in the conference rooms at Montgomery General Hospital. The health fair was intended for general populations. The AAHI performed bone density screenings and education. The bone density screening was done on the heel and served as an initial risk assessment for osteoporosis. The event was very successful; we had a total of 60 participants for screening and education. For the education portion, the health educators discussed the screening results, osteoporosis information and calcium intake with the participants.
The participants provided positive feedback of our event. When asked about the screening and education, participants continued to mention how helpful it was. One participant said “it was so helpful; it was an excellent opportunity to learn about osteoporosis”. The participant continued to say “My results surprised me. Now that I am aware of my bone density, I can take the results to my doctor and tell him that I need a full-body scan.” Another participant spoke of how helpful and informative the educational portion was, the participant was unaware of exercise regimens that could prevent osteoporosis as well as non-dairy sources of calcium. The positive feedback from participants has validated our efforts of outreach, screening and education.
This was an excellent opportunity for AAHI to reach out to general populations and educate them about AAHI.