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Oral History Interview with Selina Chan, 2003-12-15

 File
Identifier: 2014.036.012

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

9/11 Chinatown Documentation Project includes oral history interviews of people who lived or worked in the Lower East Side during the events on September 11th, 2001. The individuals whose stories were collected are of diverse immigrant, educational, age and socio-economic backgrounds. The interviewees reflect on the tragedy and discuss how their lives and the lives of others in the community were affected by it. The interviews help to paint a portrait of how the New York Chinatown we know today was shaped by the events of that morning.

Dates

  • Creation: 2003-12-15

Conditions Governing Use

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, belong to the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA). Interview can only be reproduced with permission from the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA).

Extent

56 Megabytes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Selina Chan is a nurse working at St. Vincent Hospital's Chinatown Clinic. She discusses her work in the clinic taking care of the Chinatown population, covering topics such as low-income patient care and how, as a Catholic charity, they often try to cover the majority of the costs for patients without insurance. Salina also describes the demographics of the immigrant population living in Chinatown who come for care at the clinic and notes a gradual shift from Cantonese speakers to majority Fujianese and Mandarin speakers. Selina discusses the impact that the 9/11 attacks had on the Chinatown population and talks about the traumatic effect it had on patients under her care. On the topic of SARS, Selina elaborates on the clinic’s situation and procedures dealing with the then current SARS outbreak, highlighting steps in patient care and education, especially for members of the community who recently returned from affected countries.

Repository Details

Part of the Museum of Chinese in America Repository

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