10/17/2025
Good evening Austin,
How about a sweet, feel-good story before the night ends?
This past Saturday, October 11, 2025, AVAMPS held our 25th annual community health fair and celebrated our 25th Anniversary as a non-profit medical organization serving thousands of uninsured and high-risk Vietnamese individuals in Austin and its surrounding counties.
More than 25 years ago thousands of Vietnamese people immigrated from Vietnam and settled in Austin, TX. Though it was a small community at the time, one thing was clear-many Vietnamese people suffered from poor health. The Vietnamese people did not have health insurance, they did not speak English, and they did not have transportation to address their medical needs. This astute observation was made by several healthcare professionals, and they knew that something must be done.
Out of this social and health disparities emerged Austin Vietnamese American Medical Professional Society (AVAMPS) in the year 2000. The five founders of AVAMPS were Dr. Duc Tran, Family Physician, Mrs. Tuyet Tran, Pharmacist, Mr. Cuong Pham, Pharmacist, Mrs. Hue Nguyen, MSN-Registered Nurse, and Mrs. Hoa Dinh, Dental Hygienist. They began to provide basic primary care to the Vietnamese community.
Today, 25 years later, we continue to carry out the mission of- increasing the health and wellness of the Vietnamese individuals who are uninsured, high-risk, and the elderly. We address basic health needs by offering primary care strategies such as screening for diseases, education on diseases and their maintenance, and referral to community services. We have one major community health fair in October and 3 to 5 mini-health events throughout the year. We also collaborate with government agencies, other healthcare organizations, and non-profit organizations in an effort to holistically meet the health needs of the Vietnamese individuals.
AVAMPS's current officers are Dr. Viet Tran- President, Dr. Luan Tran- CEO, Hoa Dinh- Treasure, Linh Nguyen- Secretary, Nam Nguyen- Technical Support, and Tram Huynh- Community Liaison.
At the 25th Anniversary celebration we honored 14 individuals or organizations for either contributing financially, providing compassionate community services or both to AVAMPS and to the Vietnamese community.
1) Gilead Sciences, Financial Supporter, over 20 years
Mr. Wayde Troup representing Gilead Science
2) Mrs.Trang Nguyen with Everose Home Care, Financial Supporter
and Compassionate Community Services over 20 years
3) Mrs. Mercy Nkansah with Progressive Home Health, Financial
Supporter and Compassionate Community Services over 20 years
4) Dr. Kim Chi Trinh with Clear Optometry, Compassionate
Community Services over 20 years
5) Dr. Tony Dany, Medical consultation and Compassionate
Community Services over 20 years
6) Dr. Thuan Nguyen, Hepatitis Lecturer over 20 years
7) UT College of Pharmacy- Project Collaborate, Compassionate
Community Services over 20 years
8) Dr. Yen Dao, Medical Consultation and Compassionate
Community Services over 15 years
9) Dr. Binh Pham, Colon Cancer Lecturer and Compassionate
Community Services over 15 years
10) Austin Public Health- Immunization Program, Compassionate
Community Services over 15 years
11) Ms. Barbara Chang, Cancer Education and Compassionate
Community Services over 15 years
12) Mr. Han Nguyen, Pharm D, Pharmacology consultant and
Compassionate Community Services over 15 years
13) Mrs. Suong Van, Advanced Practice Nurse, volunteer and
Compassionate Community Services over 10 years
14) Ms. Linh Nguyen, Med Student, volunteer and Compassionate
Community Services over 10 years
Finally, AVAMPS wants to profusely THANK the hundreds of volunteers throughout the 25 years. We are so grateful for the enthusiasm and passion from the healthcare professionals, high school and college students, translators, support personnel, and ALL the brave volunteers who show up with a happy heart from other professions. We also want to thank the Planning/Celebration Committee members and MC for the countless hours of meeting, food, and fun.
Remember- we are STRONGER TOGHTER.
THANK YOU
AVAMPS
