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On Feb. 4, 2025, ICHS Healthy Aging & Wellness Program staff held their annual Lunar New Year celebration at Legacy House assisted living facility in Seattle’s historic Chinatown-International District.
Elder program participants marked the start of the Year of the Snake with loud applause and big smiles. With the music of drums pounding through speakers, lanterns swinging overhead, and mooncakes galore, Legacy House residents and Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) participants joined in the clapping and laughter of the holiday.
In hot pursuit of the orb, known as the “Pearl of Wisdom”, Mengqi Hu, ICHS program assistant, raises the dragon head up high in the dragon dance performance at the ICHS Healthy Aging & Wellness Program Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 4. The orb represents wisdom, and the dragon dance symbolizes the dragon’s continuous pursuit of wisdom. Photo provided by ICHS.
Senior residents beam big smiles during the colorful performances at ICHS Legacy House. Photo provided by ICHS.
“What I love most about celebrations like this is the way our participants’ eyes light up and they become so vibrant,” said Mindy Balk, ICHS recreational therapy supervisor. “It’s my hope that celebrations like these remind us all that even as we age, we can still be ourselves — performers, artists, spectators, planners — and we continue to contribute and belong to our communities.”
Lunar New Year celebrations revolve around common themes: time with family, honoring ancestors, and celebrating health and prosperity. Events like this are deeply meaningful for ICHS’ senior participants, said Balk. A number of PACE senior participants live alone, receiving transportation to ICHS Legacy House for their care.
Nationally, Asian American seniors, especially those from immigrant backgrounds, are more prone to feel social isolation and lack a sense of agency due to language barriers. Isolation is directly linked to reduced everyday physical activity and greater sedentary time, leading to health concerns for elders.
Empowering senior participants to be active, to take part in dancing and singing is a core part of ICHS’ care model, explains Balk.
“Our staff do such an amazing job working with participants to help them practice, prepare, and feel confident as they step up on the stage to dance, sing, or share their talents,” Balk continued. “So many participants share that these practices and performances give them something fun to look forward to.”
ICHS medical provider and former medical director Alan Chun, MD performs a Chinese sword dance influenced by the ancient Chinese art of tai chi. Photo provided by ICHS.
In other words, Lunar New Year celebrations manifest the very real themes of health promotion and longevity.
Other ICHS Lunar New Year Celebrations
On Feb. 8, 2025, members of ICHS’ outreach and enrollment team took part in the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration at the New Holly Gathering Hall in South Seattle.
Bang-Tam Nguyen, ICHS outreach and enrollment specialist (on left) and Elsa Anderson, ICHS community health specialist, took part in the 2025 Tết Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. Photo provided by ICHS.
ICHS has a multilingual team of enrollment navigators who offer long-term, phone and in-person assistance to our diverse immigrant and refugee community members as they navigate health insurance enrollment.
Enrollment navigators at ICHS are unique not only in their long-term partnerships with the community, but also in their language ability. Navigators speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Spanish, Amharic, and more, enabling them to reach communities in the language they are most comfortable in.
Not far away, at the ICHS Holly Park Medical & Dental Clinic, staff celebrated Lunar New Year with team lunches, traditional Vietnamese ao dai outfits, and red envelopes.
ICHS Holly Park Clinic staff celebrated the Lunar New Year with team lunches, traditional Vietnamese ao dai outfits, and red envelopes. Photo provided by ICHS.
Called the “biggest celebration in the world,” Lunar New Year is a time-honored holiday heralding the arrival of spring and celebrated by over a billion people globally.
Despite snowy weather, the ICHS Bellevue Clinic staff celebrated with a Lunar New Year feast on Feb. 6, 2025. Photo provided by ICHS.