Thoughts on a Very Special Day, a letter from APHF's Dr. Binh Tran
Dear Friends,
We are here: Binh Tran, Program Director at Asian Pacific Health Foundation, with Dr. Robert Gish, Chairman of the Board and Medical Director, and Dr. France Nguyen, Director of Grants an
d Research, thanking you, Joe, for organizing this exceptional gathering of colleagues and friends in Southern California. Like you, I am driving from Los Angeles to meet everyone, and especially Anthony.
Dear Anthony,
It has been nice knowing you for the past 9 years. As I reflect back then, your work and Asian Pacific Health Foundation have followed the same upward trajectory. Allow me to recall the main points here:
1. With the joining of Dr. Robert Gish as Medical Director in 2010, APHF was propelled to the one Comm
unity Based Organization focused on hepatitis B and C screening for the underserved populations in San Diego. We worked with UCSD Anti-Viral Research Center to screen Foreign-born Populations at risk for Hepatitis B in San Diego. We collected several dozen letters of support for the application to the CDC, and got a sub-grant for work. Since the formation of the parent Asian Pacific Health Center in 2001, we have reached over 7,500 individuals, and connected over 4,800 to needed care.
2. During those years, Hep-B United was formed (2008), and at annual Summits, we attended Rep. Scott Peters’ office on Capitol Hill, welcomed by Anthony. You were always very kind to us, you listened to our asks, and relayed our recommendations to the boss.
3. APHF received a Proclamation from Rep. Scott Peters’ office on National Hepatitis Day on May 19, 2015 at the Vietnamese Federation of San Diego. Mr. Peter Phạm, President of the Federation, and Dr. Gish were there.
4. On National Hepatitis B Screening Day May 19, 2016, APHF was recognized as one of 12 other agencies for outstanding work testing for HBV and HCV infections by the Department of Human and Health Services at the White House in Washington DC.
5. In recent y
ears, Anthony was promoted to Director of Constituents specializing in Health matters, so was involved with UCSD Health Systems work, and APHF was equally active with SKAGGS School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
6. On the civic and cultural arenas, Anthony is seen in prominent groups in San Diego, where APHF is also involved with, such as:
· Joe Long’s appointment by Supervisor Bill Horn as panel hearing officer for San Diego County Property Assessment Appeals Board (2013-2017). Joe was hearing and approving thousands of appeals after the housing crash of 2008-2012.
· Multi-cultural ethnic groups of San Diego, with Abraham To
· Asian Heritage Society, with Len Novarro, where many of us have been honored as awardees (Abraham, Dr. Gish, APHCenter)
· Vietnamese Federation of San Diego, with Mr. Tiết Trần, Peter Phạm
· Vietnamese American Youth Alliance, with Alexander Nguyễn, which partners with the Vietnamese Federation to do Annual Tết Celebrations,
· San Diego Lions Clu
b Chapters with Rose Trần,
· And other groups
7. Dr. Kayla Giang and I were very happy to be invited to your wedding on March 16, 2019, and rejoiced with you and Jane at the birth of your son. We can hardly imagine how the skillful member at the Capitol is now a proud father of a young toddler.
Congratulations on your new activities at Rady’s Children Hospital! We hope that APHF’s path will cross with yours again in many aspects. Lastly, a call for you: We are searching for a replacement for Dr. Kayla Giang, who is resigning to devote more time for her newborn baby while working full-time at th
e VA Hospital. The ad for Executive Director is here, as are flyers for our next outreach events on March 5 at the YMCA on El Cajon Blvd, and March 19 at Mira Mesa Center with the Lions Club groups.
Thank you,
Binh Tran, PharmD
February 25, 2022
This event had the participation of Anthony Nguyen, Dr. Binh Tran, Dr. Robert Gish, and Dr. France Nguyen (seen, from left to right)
To right of Thai dancer is Nikki Bupha, President of Thai American Chamber of Commerce; 4th person is Michael Nguyen of CalFed Financial Services, APHF Tax preparer.
