2011 is the year of the Rabbit and in celebration, the health center organized and participated in a series of events marking the beginning of a new lunar year.

South Cove hosted lion dance at its two clinics: Washington Street and Quincy.  The lion dance has long been a part of the new year celebration tradition.  A well-performed dance is said to bring happiness and good luck, as well as drive away evil spirits. 

The two dragons getting ready to "eat" the lettuce and oranges

The Chiu Mo Kwoon Martial Arts Academy based in Chinatown performed their signature lion dance at the Quincy clinic.  On Sunday, February 6, to the cheers and claps from patients and staff, the two lions made their grand entrance.  They then paraded down the hallway making a stop in each pod to give its blessing.  The highlight of the dance came as the lions picked up the oranges and lettuce prepared for them from the plates.  The lettuce was then shredded and tossed into the air.  The spreading of lettuce symbolized spreading of good luck.  The oranges also carry a symbolic meaning during Chinese New Year celebrations.  They are shared among families and friends for good luck and renewed hope for the future. This is the 5th year that our Quincy clinic has welcomed the Chinese New Year with a lion dance.  The annual ritual started when the clinic moved into a brand new facility in April 2007.

This year, giving the Washington Street clinic its due spotlight, we arranged for it to have its first lion dance ever!  To the delight of patients and staff alike, the health center had the pleasure of having the students of Josiah Quincy Elementary School perform their lion dance routine on Wednesday, February 9.  At precisely 10am, the group of 10+ students and two lions marched into the health center to the sounds of drums and cymbals.  And immediately the atmosphere transformed from quiet to jubilation.   Many touched the lions as they moved from department to department for it is believed that doing so would bring about good luck and fortune for the entire year.   The students looked every bit like the professional lion dancers and delivered a performance that rivaled that of a professional one.  They "ate" all the lettuce and oranges, and grabbed red envelopes hanging on a stick effortlessly with their months.  The lion dance lasted about 15 minutes and when it was over, we were all left wanting more.  We were so impressed by them that we have already booked them for next year's new year celebration!  An interesting side note:  the students learned lion dance as part of a kung-fu class offered at the school taught by none other than Bruce Lee!  No wonder they were so good, they learned from the best!

South Cove thanks the School Principal Simon Ho for helping find the best group to give the Washington Street clinic its blessings: the school students, and for their marvelous performance.  

We hope the lion dances helped spread health and wellness to our patients and everyone in the community. 

Eric Tiberi gives a greeting at the opening ceremony

In addition to the in-house celebration, South Cove also participated in the 23rd Quincy Lunar New year celebration organized by the Quincy Asian Resources, Inc.  On Sunday, February 13, 2011, the North Quincy High School gymnasium was decorated in red, the Asian celebratory color, as it welcomed attendees with singing, dancing and drumming.  From 10:30am to 4pm, the floor was packed with visitors to one of the largest cultural events in town.  Eric Tiberi, COO, representing South Cove, was among the sponsors to give a brief greeting and welcoming remark at the opening ceremony. 

The organizers marketed this year's festival with the slogan of "Do good, feel good, and be part of a better world" shining the light on health, well-being and green living.  This was reflected in a new feature: the Wellness Activities Center, aimed to promote exercise and raise obesity awareness.  It's all about imparting the message that healthy living is an important goal for families and communities, the organizers said.  South Cove was certainly very glad to take part in this effort.  The health center had 3 providers stationed at the booth in the Wellness area: Dr. Qiyue Hu, an internist, Dr. Jenny Shih and Dr. Maddie Hao, both pediatricians, as well as two nursing teams.  The nursing teams provided BMI screening for all the visitors and those so desired could proceed to the providers for a brief consultation on the BMI results or seek expert suggestions on how to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle.   The booth saw a total of 264 visitors.

At the gymnasium where the main festival was, South Cove's booth featured fun games designed to entertain parents and children alike.  Also at the booth were our staff dental hygienist and a dental student to demonstrate the proper way of brushing and keeping good dental hygiene.  There was also a representative from WIC doing outreach to its clientele: women, children and infants.   Everyone that stopped by the South Cove booth also received a Rabbit stress ball as a souvenir.  The booth saw close to 600 visitors by the conclusion of the event.  

South Cove, as a federally funded health center, submits a report to HRSA every year called the UDS report.   The Uniform Data System (UDS) report requires the grantees to tracks a variety of information, including patient demographics, services provided, staffing, utilization rates etc. The UDS Report for calendar year 2010 was due in mid February 2011.   As we fulfilled our obligation with the federal government, we thought it would be nice to share some figures with the readers to provide a glimpse into South Cove's operations by the numbers. 

Total patients: 25,292

Total visitss: 149,105

3 clinics average 12,500 visits a month

File over 20,000 insurance applications a year; service over 250 patients per day; make 12,000 referrals for patients per year - all these accomplished with 11 Social Services staff!

72% patient growth since 2002, 9% average patient growth per year over the last eight years.

80% visit growth since 2002, 10% average visit growth per year over the last eight years.

"Top 5" by category:

Patient Language:

Chinese Cantonese

Chinese Mandarin  

English

Vietnamese

Thai 

Patient Race:

Asian non-Hispanic

White non-Hispanic

Black/African Americans

Asian Hispanic

American Indian or Alaska Native

Service Utilization by visit:

Adult Medicine

Pediatrics

Dental

Ob/Gyn

Optometry

Patients by department:

Adult Medicine

Dental  

Pediatrics    

Ob/Gyn

Optometry

Given the past and current growth trend, we expect to break 30,000 in patient number by 2014 with close to 200,000 visits!

As we continue to grow and serve a population that is also experiencing tremendous growth, our priority remains to provide unparalleled service to our patients and stay true to our mission of serving the underserved.

Stat Dragons 2010 racing down the Charles!

It is spring, come out to enjoy the warmer weather and flex those muscles that were dormant during winter.  This year's Boston Dragon Boat Festival is taking place on Sunday, June 12, 2011.  South Cove has entered a team every year since 2004, making it the 8th consecutive year.  We are recruiting, so new blood and/or returning paddlers: please contact Julie at jchou@scchc.org for more information or to sign up, space is limited.  No experience necessary, interested individuals only need to be unafraid of the Charles River water (in the rare case that the boat capsizes) and be able to tread!

40th Anniversary Celebration

As announced in the last issue, the health center is gearing up for its monumental 40th anniversary celebration set for 2012.  We have been working to trace South Cove's roots all the way back to the very beginning.  40 years is a long time for any organization; gathering historical pictures, documents and tracking down old timers is a major undertaking but we have made some progress.  Though the center was established in 1972, three years prior to that, volunteers and activists in Chinatown were already quietly laying the foundation. A task force was formed in 1969 and it took three years' labor of love to put together an ace grant proposal that secured the birth of the health center.  We have been tracking down members of the task force, founders and past executive directors of the health center to invite them to the celebration and share with us what it was like back in their days.    It is like finding misplaced pieces of a puzzle and putting them back together one by one.  We are eager to complete the puzzle and cannot wait to unveil it at our celebration next year to chronicle South Cove's 40-year journey.

Apart from contacting former staff, we are also hoping to hear from anyone that has stories to tell or pictures to share.  Please get in touch with us!  Meanwhile, a committee is being formed, if you would like to take part in planning and shaping this event, please submit your name to Eugene Welch at ewelch@scchc.org no later than April 15, 2011.