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Over the past year, Apicha Community Health Center (CHC) has continued strengthening and adapting our services based on what our communities tell us they need most. Even in a challenging environment, we’ve expanded programs, launched new services, and improved outcomes across multiple areas of care.
Over 8,000 low-income New Yorkers receive health care services at our two locations in lower East Side, Manhattan and Jackson Heights, Queens.
As we look ahead, your year-end support helps us continue this work for the people we serve.
| | Your support helps us continue providing compassionate healthcare for all. | | How Apicha CHC Met Community Needs in 2025 | | | | |
Apicha achieved a new milestone this year with the birth of six babies. In November 2024, Dr. Lisa Eng, D.O., Board Certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, joined our team to help us answer an unmet need in the community: high quality gynecological, prenatal and postpartum services. In 2025, Dr. Eng received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Chinese American Physicians.
Our needs assessment for Jackson Heights showed that many patients were at greater risk of serious complications because they were entering prenatal care too late or not at all.
Apicha CHC’s new OB-GYN care is a core service giving patients earlier and more reliable access to pregnancy support.
| | | Apicha’s Role in Ending the HIV Epidemic | | Apicha CHC has been on the front lines of the fight to end the HIV epidemic for decades. From free, confidential testing and rapid linkage to care, to prevention services like PrEP & PEP, our teams meet people where they are with compassionate, judgment-free support. | | | Honored for Excellence in HIV Testing | |
Many people who face the highest barriers to HIV and STI care rely on testing that is accessible, compassionate, and offered directly in the community.
For years, Apicha CHC has provided field testing in community spaces so people can get screened without fear or difficulty.
That long-standing commitment was recognized on National HIV Testing Day in June 2025, when Apicha's prevention team received the Testies Award from New York Knows, honoring the program as a model of community outreach that is engaging, energetic, and welcoming.
The recognition reflects the strength of our outreach teams and the trust they continue to build across the neighborhoods we serve.
| | Expanding PrEP Options to Fit Patients’ Lives | |
Apicha CHC was one of the first health care providers in Queens to provide the newly FDA approved ultra-long injectable PrEP, which provides more long-lasting protection from HIV infection.
We now provide our patients with all the options for PrEP including once a day pill. 2-1-1, PrEP on demand, and long-acting injectable PrEP.
These options give our patients freedom of choice and HIV prevention options that best fit their needs. This year alone, 1,600 Apicha patients received PrEP and remained HIV negative.
With these efforts, Apicha CHC is making a meaningful impact in controlling the spread of HIV with the end goal of finally ending the AIDS epidemic.
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Sustaining
High-Quality
HIV Care
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For people who are newly diagnosed with HIV or newly entering care, starting treatment quickly is one of the most important steps toward staying healthy.
Apicha CHC uses an approach called iART, which focuses on helping patients begin medication as soon as possible so they can move towards viral load suppression. When a person’s viral load is suppressed, the virus becomes undetectable in their blood, which improves their long-term health and prevents them from passing HIV to their sexual partners.
94% of Apicha’s active patients achieved viral load suppression, reflecting the strength of Apicha CHC’s ongoing commitment to high-quality HIV care.
| | Helping Patients Meet Essential Needs | | |
Every day, our providers hear from patients navigating challenges like food insecurity, housing instability, or difficulty getting to appointments. These needs show up again and again in the screening questions that we ask at every visit, and they directly affect a person’s ability to stay healthy.
This year, Apicha CHC expanded the way we respond. With new state support for addressing non-medical health needs, we partnered with Whole You NYC to launch a Social Care Network navigation program in October 2025.
The program helps staff identify patients who need extra support and connect them with trusted community resources. As a result, more patients can now be connected to support quickly and reliably, helping them stay healthy.
| | | Screening for Better Long-Term Health | | |
Screening is one of the most important ways we help patients stay healthy. At Apicha CHC, every patient is offered routine screenings for conditions like colorectal cancer, diabetes, HIV, and STIs, along with other risks that can affect long-term health.
This year, we expanded access to one of the most effective at-home screening tools for colorectal cancer. In partnership with Exact Sciences, Apicha CHC now offers FIT-DNA testing at no cost to uninsured patients with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level, making it easier for people to get screened without barriers.
By increasing access to these essential tools, we help more patients catch potential problems early and stay on top of their health.
| | | National Recognition for Behavioral Health Excellence | | |
When community survey responses and patient screenings showed increasing mental health needs, we strengthened our integrated behavioral health services to better support patients across our clinics.
That work earned Apicha CHC the 2025 HRSA Community Health Quality Recognition Badge as a National Quality Leader – Behavioral Health. This achievement places us among the top-performing health centers in the country for our commitment to exceptional behavioral health care.
Reflecting on this recognition, Dr. Raymund Sison, Director of Medicine, said, “We’re proud to be recognized for our commitment to mental health,” and Dr. Venus Vacharakitja, Senior Director of Behavioral Health Integration, noted that the award reflects “our dedication to compassionate, integrated care for the communities we serve.”
| | | Federal Recognition for Telehealth | | |
Many of our patients face real challenges getting to in-person appointments. Staying connected to care requires flexible options that meet people where they are.
Apicha CHC expanded our use of teleheath and other digital tools to make it easier for patients to get support, ask questions, and manage their health without interruption. These tools help us reach patients quickly and consistently, especially for those who work long hours everyday and where in-person visits are challenging.
For these achievements, Apicha CHC was recognized by the Health Resources and Services Administration with the 2025 “Advancing Health Information Technology for Quality” badge, reflecting our commitment to using technology to deliver accessible, high-quality care.
| | | Thank you for supporting Apicha CHC. These are only a few of the ways our staff have worked together to improve the community’s health this year. Your partnership and support makes that possible. We look forward to continuing this work with you in the year ahead. | | Your year-end gift strengthens care for our communities. | | |
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