Issue No. 1 / March 2022
Dear our Supporters and Donors:
We are pleased to issue our first newsletter from the KSCA/Task Force
Joint Fundraising Committee.
First we would like to express our deepest appreciation to you for
your support and generous donations toward our goal of rebuilding a
non-profit 100-bed culturally sensitive nursing home in the Southern
California Nikkei community. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep
you apprised of our progress toward this goal.
As an independent organization, the Task Force To Rebuild a Nikkei
Nursing Home (Task Force), was formed in 2020 to devote to this
project. A blue-print plan is currently being solidified by the Task
Force and the search for land continues. Construction costs alone are
estimated at over $60 million. The creation of a documentary depicting
the need for a culturally sensitive nursing home has just been awarded
a grant by the UCLA/ARATANI CARE Foundation and will help further
communicate the need for the nursing home to the Nikkei community. Our
website is currently under construction to include project updates
among other information. We will keep you updated on our progress in
these areas and more in our future newsletters.
As you may already know, the sale of Keiro senior care facilities in
2016 included a 5-year agreement with the new owner, Pacifica
Companies, to continue the culturally sensitive services and the
acceptance of Medicare and Medi-Cal. This agreement expired in
February 2021. Pacifica is no longer obliged to provide these
services. Further, upon expiration of the agreement, Pacifica closed
the Sakura Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) in August 2021 in order to
build a for-profit housing project, displacing 97 ICF residents amidst
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The future is uncertain for residents in the remaining facilities. In
the United States today, there are no culturally sensitive nursing
homes for the NIkkei elders any longer. We know Pacifica can stop
using their facilities for the care of our seniors any time in the
near future. It is now so important for the Nikkei community to begin
the efforts for rebuilding nonprofit senior care facilities.
We hope for your continued support and generous donations for this worthy cause.
Sincerely yours,
Joint Fundraising Committee,
The Koreisha Senior Care & Advocacy and the TASK FORCE
Seiji Horio, Kenji Irie, Rieko Johnson, Yumiko Kaji, Amy Kato, Kumiko
Nakamura, Masano Siu, Kyoko Watanabe, Eileen Yoshimura
(in alphabetical order)