A (Dis)orderly Progression: The Lasting Impact of Pandemic on Community-Based Organizations

Community-based organizations (CBOs) serving older ethnic minority adults, especially older immigrants, are vital to satisfy their complex social, health, and behavioral health needs. This study uses organizational theories and a case study approach to examine how the organizational responses to the multifaceted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and progress beyond the pandemic-related responses. Four CBOs serving older Chinese immigrants in New York City were examined. Results indicate that driven by unmet psychosocial needs of older Chinese immigrants and public health measures, CBOs modified practice protocols and established (or strengthened) collaborative relationships with medical providers and other CBOs. COVID-19 responses include CBOs’ transformations in organizational structures (e.g. collaboration) and operational activities (e.g. telehealth). Successful transformations of CBOs were primarily due to prior adaptiveness to integrated care reform and assured needed resources before the pandemic; the transformation reflected orderly organizational progress rather than a temporary management strategy.