CACCC Receives $19,076 Grant from Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Funds will help address the inequities in serious illness, end-of-life care, dispel misconceptions and cultural taboos in the Chinese American Community

September 16, 2025 – Cupertino CA – The Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care (CACCC) receives $19,076 grant from Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s (SVCF) Health strategy funds in support of BIPOC-led and allied organizations that prioritize community-based solutions to improve access to care, strengthen primary care, and offer mental health services. CACCC will utilize the much-needed funds to address the inequities in serious illness and end-of-life care of older adults, as well as dispel misconceptions and cultural taboos in the Chinese American community to benefit multigenerational families, family caregivers, individuals and families living with serious illness, residing in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

The Need

• Asian Americans comprise the largest minority group in San Mateo County (SMC) and Santa Clara County (SCC) respectively.2,3
• Chinese Americans represent the largest ethnic group (~40% of Asians in SMC, ~30% of Asians in SCC).2-4
• Asian Americans in California have considerably worse end-of-life (EOL) outcomes compared to whites.9,10
• Asian Americans are more likely to receive aggressive medical care in the last 30 days life including admission to the hospital and intensive care unit.9,10
• Asians in California are also more likely to die in the hospital, have lower rates of enrollment in hospice, and have shorter length of stay when admitted to hospice.9-11
• Asians are less likely to talk to family members about or document EOL wishes compared to white, Black, Latinx12-14
• Asians are half as likely to know about palliative care (PC) and 2 to 6 times more likely to hold various misconceptions about PC15,16
• Basic communication between Chinese families and their healthcare providers is limited, with 34% of Chinese Americans in SCC reporting having a hard time understanding their doctor and needing someone to help them understand their doctor.4

“In collaboration with Stanford Medicine Palliative Care and other community-based coalition partners, serving San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, CACCC will design and modify its Community Life, Mental Health and Wellness programs: Advance Care Planning and Heart to Heart Café; Palliative and Hospice Education; Empowering Caregivers; Improving Culturally Sensitive Care within Healthcare Settings, and more, to address the inequities of serious illness and end-of-life care for Chinese Americans,” said Sandy Chen Stokes, CACCC Founder.

“We’re honored to continue our partnership and collaboration with CACCC and other community-based service providers to advance palliative care and end-of-life care for Chinese American patients and families living with serious illness,” said Grant M. Smith, MD, palliative care physician and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine.

For more on Stanford Palliative Care Center of Excellence, visit https://med.stanford.edu/palliative-care.html.

Reference list attached as Page 3 of 3.

About CACCC

The Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care (CACCC), an award-winning coalition, is the first coalition devoted to addressing the end-of-life care concerns of the Chinese community and the healthcare professionals who serve them, since 2005. Recognized globally as an educator, an innovator, a leader in end-of-life education, CACCC provides community life programs in Advance Care Planning, hospice and palliative care, mindful self-care, loss and grief, Doctor Talk, Spiritual Talk, Heart to Heart® Café Facilitator training, Poetic Medicine for Grief, Suicide Prevention, and more. Visit caccc-usa.org or email info@caccc-usa.org, or call Warmline: (866) 661-5687.

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