The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation Makes $2MM Commitment to Delivering Health Care to Homeless Individuals.
Circle the City to Open New Center to Meet the Primary Health Care Needs of Maricopa County’s Homeless Community
SCOTTSDALE, AZ (September 9, 2014) – Today, Circle the City announced it will dramatically expand its medical services for homeless individuals, thanks to a $2 million grant from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. The organization will launch a new primary health care center, The Parsons Family Health Center at Circle the City, to address the complex medical needs of the homeless population. The new Parsons Family Health Center will enable the organization to expand its programming to reach more than 3,500 new patients annually.
In Maricopa County more than 17,000 people experience homelessness each year, which greatly exceeds the community’s current capacity to meet the health care needs of this population.
“One of the greatest barriers to relieving homelessness is access to health care,” said Sister Adele O’Sullivan, CSJ, M.D., Circle the City’s founder and medical director. “The grant from The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation will enable Circle the City to build a medical home for the homeless, connecting them with desperately needed primary health care services.”
The Parsons Family Health Center at Circle the City is projected to open in summer 2015 at a location near the organization’s current Medical Respite Center. The new facility will offer a continuum of health care for a population that frequently seeks medical attention via emergency rooms and 911 calls. The health center will feature 10-15 exam rooms and a team of clinicians who are experienced in treating the acute and frequently chronic health concerns of the homeless population.
Circle the City currently operates a 50-bed Medical Respite Center, which provides a holistic approach to healing for homeless individuals recently released from the hospital. Patients have access to case management services; behavioral health counseling; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; psychiatric assessment; substance abuse therapy; and an array of volunteer-led activities, all integrated into comprehensive plans of care.
“Circle the City offers our most vulnerable citizens the best possible care – care that promotes physical, psychological and financial health all under one roof,” said entrepreneur and philanthropist Bob Parsons. “Through the new Parsons Family Health Center I believe that thousands of people will be given the chance to improve their health and, ultimately, recover their lives.”
The new Center will operate in tandem with the Medical Respite Center. Patients whose conditions warrant more intensive treatment will be admitted to the Respite Center, helping decrease the frequency and necessity for expensive hospital admissions.
“Circle the City is committed to addressing gaps that exist in the local continuum of homeless health care,” said Brandon Clark, Circle the City’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are so thankful for the continued support from Bob and Renee Parsons. In awarding this grant, their compassion will again directly assist the most vulnerable in our community, providing both healing and hope.”
About Circle the City
Circle the City is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides a time and place to heal for people in Greater Phoenix who are experiencing homelessness while ill or injured. Incorporated in 2008, the organization embraces its patients with compassionate medical care and meaningful human services as they journey toward healthy, independent living. For more information, please visit www.circlethecity.org.