Clinic Plays Role in Crenshaw Area’s Diversity

The article about the Japanese community in the Crenshaw district (Times, Sept. 30) was of great interest to us at T.H.E. Clinic, a multiethnic primary health clinic in Crenshaw.

The majority of our patients have been and continue to be African-American, reflecting the demographics of this community. But T.H.E. Clinic has also been the principal (indeed, the only) clinic for low-income Japanese women in Los Angeles. What started as a black/Japanese-American patient population in 1974 has grown over 19 years to embrace a large Latino population and five other Asian/Pacific populations (Thai, Vietnamese, Lao, Filipino and Tongan). The medical director for primary care services is Korean and speaks Japanese, Korean and Spanish.

This unique mosaic grows out of the special relationship of African-Americans and Japanese-Americans in this neighborhood and in this community institution. My predecessor as executive director of T.H.E. Clinic was Irene Hirano, a Japanese-American who served this community with distinction before leaving to head the Japanese National Museum.

Some of the children of older Japanese-American residents may be leaving, but the nexus between groups here is still strong and growing, with local, statewide and international reflections. Soon, two of our health educators (one Japanese and one Latina) will go by special invitation to Osaka, Japan, to lecture on early intervention and prevention of HIV.

SYLVIA DREW IVIE

Los Angeles

Ivie is executive director of T.H.E. Clinic.