After 12 years of unyielding efforts of our Founder and CEO of Penn Asian Senior Services Inc., Im Ja Choi, PASSi has now become the largest homecare and adult daycare provider of Asian Americans in Pennsylvania. PASSi currently provides care to more than 640 seniors in 17 Asian languages and employes 570 people in several different departments. In 2006, Ms. Choi also established the Penn Asian Vocational Institute, a vocational school that has produced more than 1,000 Home Health Aide and Certiffied Nursing Assistant graduates. Please enjoy the following interview with Ms. Choi on blogtalkraidio.com                                                                        

We were very fortunate to have Master Chef Joseph Poon visit PASSi on Friday, February 2nd, to do a vegetable & fruit sculpture demo with the seniors! He was also interviewed for our new YouTube channel "PASSi Life" which focuses on older adults, being healthy and active, and living life to the fullest! Check out his website at www.josephpoon.com, as well as our new YouTube channel!

Position: Social Services Assistant Responsibilities: Assist Korean speaking home health care workers in developing, conducting programs to prevent, resolve issues of elderly Korean speaking clients. Visit individuals at home, attend group meetings, interview individuals and family members to compile information on social, educational, health, medical history. Submit reports, maintain records of client visits for managerial and RN staff. Communicate with community service organizations. Hours: 40hrs. Requirements: BA with a major in Social Work or equivalent required. Must read, write, speak Korean. Must pass motor vehicle and criminal background check. Valid driver’s license required. Report to: Penn Asian Senior Services, 6926 Old York Road, Philadelphia, PA 19126 For more information please contact Isis Kim, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Penn Asian Evergreen Center will provide comprehensive home and community-based services, with the goal of helping clients age independently. Construction is under way on the new center! A temporary construction fence has been placed around the center for safety. A new indoor pool, gym and cafe, among other incredible amenities will all be located in the new facility. We're still hoping for a fall 2018 opening! The design for the new indoor pool is pictured above.

The clients at PAJC now have the benefit of receiving Physical & Occupational Therapies three times weekly at the Center.

Dr. Binh Nguyen & his team of therapists have now joined Passi team to offer our adult day clients therapy at our center.

Dr Nguyen is Vietnamese & we are hoping that this will attract Vietnamese clients to our center, as we are trying to grow and help our Vietnamese population.

From our family to yours, we wish you all a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

PASSi recently celebrated the season on the second floor of the Ocean City Restaurant in Chinatown, Philadelphia to thank employees and their families. In spite of the cold snow outdoors, more than 200 guests were invited to attend. Ms. Im Ja Choi, Founder and Executive Director of PASSi, gave a toast. She said she is very grateful to her staff for their hard work over the past year and for the three employees who won the Outstanding Employee Awards. The winners were: Chinese Nursing Officer Miao Hua Lu, Catherine Lam, Vietnamese Khi Thi Nguyen. Lively atmosphere with fun games and prizes. While enjoying the sumptuous 9 course banquet, guests also enjoyed singing and dancing performances, participated in the lucky draws and spent a fun and memorable night together.

In the photo above, Im Ja Choi, Founder and CEO of PASSi (second from right), took a photo with some of PASSi's board members and VIPs. (Jin Ming / Epoch Times)

Congratulations to our most recent graduating Certified Nurse Aide Training class of November 15, 2017.  These graduates have completed 120 hours of nurse aide training required by the State to be able to take the National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP) Examination which will officially deem them as registered nurse aides.  They will be able to obtain jobs in Nursing homes, Assisted Living facilities, Hospitals, etc. We have offered this program to individuals since 2006 and have successfully graduated 351 students since inception.  This program is hosted at least twice a year and has recently received funding from the Department of Labor and Industry to offer discounted tuition to students until Jun. 30, 2018.

Mural artist Ann Northrup, above, signed postcards of the mural for Penn Asian Senior Services visitors at Monday's artist reception. 

Penn Asian Senior Services recently held a Mural Artist Reception to celebrate the completion of its new mural by Ann Northrop.  The muralist was available this past Monday  to sign large postcard copies of the mural. Funding for the mural was provided by the City of Philadelphia, Mural Arts program. As part of the festivities, Elmwood Park Zoo was showcasing its “Zoo on Wheels” program and have live animals to interact with PASSi seniors and visitors. Light food and refreshments were provided. A good time was had by all! 

Above, a representative from Elmwood Park Zoo displays one of the animals from their Zoo on Wheels program. 

The Weinberg Foundation awarded a $650,000 capital grant to PASSi to support the development of an older adult community center, including a space for Asian older adults with limited English-proficiency.

The Penn Asian Evergreen Center will provide comprehensive home and community-based services, with the goal of helping clients age independently. 

Construction is under way on the new center! A temporary construction fence has been placed around the center for safety. A new indoor pool, gym and cafe, among other incredible amenities will all be located in the new facility. We're hoping for a fall 2018 opening!

When I first established PASSi in 2004, I just wanted help my mom with cancer, who only spoke the Korean language and some of her frail friends who were in challenging situations.  

However, soon after I opened my homecare agency, I learned that no other Asian communities were providing ethnic language homecare services due to unfamiliarity with the government system and lack of guidance. 

Most of the mainstream agencies were strangers to Asian culture and do not know how to serve unaccustomed immigrants. I hired a Chinese speaking RN in 2005 to train Chinese Home Health Aides and began to serve Chinese seniors.  Then, I realized that there were pervasive disparities in getting long term healthcare services for frail, low-income seniors in Asian communities. In establishing the first homecare agency in the State to address this very issue, I felt my obligation to serve and lead. 

 Adding one language at a time, PASSi’s Homecare now serves in 17 different Asian languages to match our clients’ native tongue. Our service also includes cooking client’s ethnic meals so that they can comfortably stay home rather than going to nursing homes.  In 2014, we also opened an adult day care, Penn Asian Jubilee Center (PAJC), to prevent seniors’ isolation and provide culturally suited activities. With all 3 ethnic meals provided and pick-up service by bi-lingual drivers, PAJC now serves approximately 70 gratified participants daily.  Our center also has beautifully landscaped gardens with a fish-pond, a vegetable garden, and a raised patio garden for handicapped seniors to participate in gardening.  PASSi currently hires 570 employees with a $17 million annual budget to    serve over 700 seniors, including 19% non-Asian seniors.

PASSi recently dedicated a beautiful mural on its west wall portraying our PAJC seniors created by Anne Northrup with Philadelphia Mural Arts. This mural boosted the spirits of our seniors and validity of their presence in the community.  PASSi also kicked off our long-awaited renovation project of its South building into a new 15,000 sf senior community center with swimming pool, gym, garden café, and 350 people capacity auditorium.  As we look  forward to the completion of the project in Summer 2018, PASSi continues to be the premier provider for supportive services for Asian seniors and other senior communities, always mindful of the rising needs with compassion and respect.

Penn Asian Senior Services is holding a Mural Artist Reception to celebrate the completion of its new mural by Ann Northrop.  The muralist will be available to sign large postcard copies of the mural.  Funding for the mural was provided by the City of Philadelphia, Mural Arts Program.
 
As part of the festivities, Elmwood Park Zoo will be showcasing its “Zoo on Wheels” program and have live animals to interact with PASSi seniors and visitors.
 
Local politicians like Councilwomen Cherylle Parker and Helen Gym, as well as Councilman David Oh have been invited.
 
Light food and refreshments will be provided.
 
December 11, 2017 at 1:00pm
PASSi (6926 Old York Road, Philadelphia, PA 19126)