From L to R: Alexis Yip (D21), Angie Yau (D19), Emerly Hsu (D21)
From L to R: Alexis Yip (D21), Angie Yau (D19), Irene Lang (D21)
On Friday, November 30, 4 volunteers from Asian Dental Organization [Angie Yau (D19), Irene Lang (D21), Emerly Hsu (D21), and Alexis Yip (D21)] visited the seniors at the Golden Age Center in Chinatown to give a presentation on how to understand and read dental insurance policies in the US.
Irene Lang (D21) reflects: “About 16 Chinatown seniors were present. The presentation featured English vocabulary focused on dental care and health insurance and was followed by an English language practice session on reading an insurance policy. This focus on incorporating English vocabulary followed their requests to learn some English, and was based on the knowledge that teaching some health-related English can help improve health literacy in ESL populations.
Despite the complexity of the material, the seniors were engaged in asking questions, participating enthusiastically with the practice questions, and reading over the vocabulary sheets we created especially for the presentation. They were especially excited to receive some fruit and Asian snacks as prizes for participation. Our volunteers received a round of applause and many “thank-yous” at the end of the presentation. It was especially helpful to have a 4th year fluent Cantonese speaker, Angie Yau, to give the presentation, as she had both the knowledge about dental insurance and the language ability to answer. Next year, I hope to continue being receptive to the requests of the organization and the seniors we are serving, as well as find ways to engage more TUSDM student volunteers in productive and mutually beneficial ways.”
