How Coop Boards can be Unreasonable

I have dealt with hundreds of Cooperative Apartment (“Coop”) Boards and management.

A Coop is company - a relatively small one at that - and like all companies, there are some that are managed well and many that are not.

Key Aspects of the Project:

• Background: The KOREAN HELP Healthcare Coalition, consisting of various healthcare and community organizations, previously created a healthcare services directory. The Health Relations Team (HRT) loosely maintains these relationships, and MinKwon Center's Health Policy Director is co-coordinating the new health literacy effort.

• What: The project aims to distribute beneficial healthcare information and provider details to the Korean American community. This includes prioritizing prevalent diseases in the Korean population in NY/US, considering common diseases for seniors, and condensing specialist information into digestible formats.

• Why: The project addresses the unique challenges faced by the Korean community, such as limited English proficiency, difficulties navigating the healthcare system due to language and cultural barriers, discrimination in healthcare settings, and complex health issues like mental health and chronic diseases.

• How (Issues & Questions):

  • Distribution: Social media posts and an "Outreach Toolkit" are planned for sharing information.

  • Neutrality: The information shared must be neutral, not prioritizing any single organization. The name of the coalition should also reflect this neutrality (e.g., "Korean Healthcare Coalition" or "Korean Health Equity Coalition").

  • Demographic Focus: While aiming for some information for all demographics, the primary focus will be on prevalent issues, likely senior care and chronic conditions.

  • Content Curation: A major issue is who will condense and curate content for accuracy, potentially requiring specialists to provide suggestions and review translated information. The project also questions if hospitals already produce public content per topic.

• Who (Participants):

  • Providers of Health Info: NYP (Dr. Laura Kim), Northwell (Jane Kim), Hunter College (Professor Jin Young Seo), KAMPANY (Dr. Hyunjoon Lee), KAPIPA, and the Korean Nurses Association (Nurse Won Hee Kang).

  • Coordinating Team: Samuel Han, Eric Kang, Faith Han, J.D. Kim, Hanna Jo.

  • Reviewers of Health Info: Dr. Laura Kim, Dr. Isabella Park.

  • Distributors of Health Info: KCS (Sara Kim), Minkwon (Hanna Jo), YWCA (Eun Kyung Kim), KAFSC (Jee Hae Fischer), Esther Ha Foundation (Mee Sook Hyun), MetroPlusHealth (Luna Lu), Mayor’s Office (GetCoveredNYC), and NYS Office of Mental Health & Hygiene (Soo Hyun Jang).

• Where: Primarily online (e.g., Instagram).

• When: Information will be distributed regularly, with exact frequency depending on partner availability.

Meeting Notes (October 2025):

• October 28, 2025 (Health Literacy Project Meeting):

  • Infographic: Landscape and Instagram versions are in progress.

  • Timeline: Distributors are to be contacted by November 4th to inquire about distribution modes and to request digital distribution of the infographic on November 9th at 10 am. Faith and Helene are to create social media formats by November 2nd, with a final review on November 4th, and the "outreach toolkit" sent to distributors by November 5th.

  • KAMPANY Health Fair: Discussion included pre-post testing, a monthly health listserv for Korean health topics, and creating a Google Doc for this.

• October 27, 2025 (Korean Health Coalition & NYU Langone):

  • Discussions focused on intervention intensity, survey sign-ups via KakaoTalk for incentives, retention strategies for pre-post surveys, and leveraging stable communities like KCS.

  • Infographic feedback suggested focusing on "surprising" or "myth-busting" information (e.g., women getting lung cancer without smoking, effects of second/third-hand smoke).

  • Patient-Provider Communication Tips from Stella Yi: These tips are categorized into "Prepare for your visit" (write things down, organize medical info, prioritize questions), "Engage during the visit" (use an interpreter, ask for clarification, ask to document concerns, bring a companion), and "Address cultural differences" (be aware of communication styles, consider a second opinion).

• October 25, 2025 (Lung ca infographic meeting - with HRT team): Reviewed a Canva design for the infographic.

• October 21, 2025 (Health Literacy Project Meeting): Welcomed Helene Ryu, a Columbia social work intern at Minkwon Center with an undergrad in Psychology & Art and graphic design skills.

Chronological To-Do List (from various past meetings):

• From 7/2/2025: Connect with KCS (Sarah), research Korean churches for partnership.

• From 6/18/2025: Make a list of topics and associated specialists/content providers.

• From 6/4/2025: Make an initial draft/one-pager proposal (everyone), create a Google Sheets to-do/contact list (Samuel), compile a list of issues/questions for initial feedback, identify people for initial feedback (Dr. Laura Kim, Professor Jin Young Seo), reach out to coalition members for initial feedback, put together a list of "component headings," reach out to potential partners for communications/organization, research health literacy outcome measures.

• From 5/26/2025: Condense "Why" to a mission statement, flesh out the messaging process, include an appendix for specific topics, organize the "Coalition Members" tab with contact information, add new/potential coalition members, make a one-pager for potential partners (later), consider changing the coalition name for neutrality, and determine how to measure project outcomes.

The document also provides a comprehensive list of Federally Recognized & Widely Acknowledged Health Awareness Months, which could inform future content planning.Health Profile of Korean Americans in the Greater New York Area (from a separate document):This section details prevalent chronic conditions and risk factors:

• Hypertension: 15% prevalence in NYC Korean ancestry, with significant underdiagnosis, especially among immigrants due to language barriers and lack of insurance.

• Diabetes: 7-10% prevalence in NYC Korean Americans, with a higher risk at lower BMIs (screening recommended at BMI 23 kg/m2 for Asian Americans). Lack of insurance and language barriers are significant obstacles to care.

• Stomach (Gastric) Cancer: Highest rates in the U.S. among Korean Americans (3-5 times higher than some other ethnic populations). Risk factors include H. pylori infection, high-salt diet, smoking, and family history. While U.S. Korean Americans have higher rates of endoscopy than non-Hispanic Whites, early detection still lags behind South Korea's systematic screening programs.

• Hepatitis B (Chronic): Asian Americans account for 60% of U.S. cases. NYC has a prevalence of 2.7%. Barriers to screening and care include lack of awareness, linguistic/cultural hurdles, financial constraints, and poor access. Nurse navigators significantly improve linkage to care.

• Alzheimer's Disease Concerns: High levels of concern about developing AD among Korean participants, especially less acculturated older adults.