Altamonte Springs, FL – AsiaTrend Magazine has a new series on inspiring Asian Americans in Central Florida called “Bridging Worlds.” The six-part series takes an inside look at Asian American residents who make a difference in the lives of others. The first story kicks off with a doctor from China, who immigrated to America and has saved the lives of many in Central Florida. The story of Dr Puxiao Cen was unveiled at the Orange County Regional History Center on May 18th. She was one of the Asian American Pacific Islander Icons featured during the Brechner Speaker Series.
According to Advent Health officials, their Heart, Lung and Vascular Department sees the most cardiovascular patients in the state of Florida. Dr Cen says, a small percentage of her patients cannot speak English, but have kids that do. “Often times they have a family member bringing them in. Younger generations, if they can find time off work.” Dr Cen even paid for a bi-lingual speaking nurse for her patients, out of her own pocket, never asking Advent Health for a dime. But in 2025, hospital supervisors reached out to Dr Cen saying, they would take over the cost to pay the nurse, as their own Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander patient population increases. We asked Dr Cen, “Do you think it’s a sign of acceptance? “She replied, “Yes I think so.” She says it’s a win for everyone. The bi-lingual nurse answers calls at all hours of the day for all of Dr Cen’s patients, not just the ones who can’t speak English.
According to Orange County government, there have been more than 95,000 Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanders or AANHPI living in the area since 2024. AANHPI’s, make up about 7-percent of the total U.S. population. Dr Cen says, “The percentage of Asian patients in my population, my patient population is also increasing a little bit.”
For the next 6 months AsiaTrend will have a new release about an inspiring Asian American “Bridging Worlds.” If you know of an Asian American that’s proud to be American and is positively impacting the Central Florida community, please contact us at: info@asiatrend.org
