New facilities in Phoenix aim to provide health care for homeless
Jul 23, 2018, 4:02 AM | Updated: 7:32 am
(Ali Vetnar/KTAR News)
(Ali Vetnar/KTAR News)
PHOENIX — Circle the City is launching two medical facilities on the Maricopa Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix.
The facility will house a new 50-bed Medical Respite Center and Circle the City’s Downtown Family Health Center — a 10-exam room outpatient clinic serving vulnerable men, women and children experiencing homelessness in the community.
“It can be compared to an impatient residential level of service for people transitioning out of the hospital,” Brandon Clark, chief executive officer of the nonprofit, told KTAR News 92.3 FM Friday.
“If you and I are would typically go home and get care from friends and loved ones. Homeless people have nowhere to go to receive that care.”
With the downtown expansion, Circle the City will be able to reach more than 7,000 people who annually seek assistance.
“The Human Services Campus is the closest thing Phoenix and Arizona has to Skid Row,” Clark said.
Circle the City’s goal is to provide integrative outpatient services including behavioral health, case management, and substance abuse intervention.
They also have launched a two-exam room Mobile Medical Clinic to extend outreach to parks, supportive housing complexes and partner agencies throughout greater Phoenix.
With the downtown expansion, Circle the City will serve more than 10,000 men, women and children experiencing homelessness each year.
The new facilities include 50 new mattresses, a newly remodeled kitchen that will accommodate dietary restrictions for patients who have been recently discharged from the hospital and require special food that normally is not found in soup kitchens.
People placed within the facilities will have around the clock nursing assistance with 24/7 clinical presence.
“When all of these elements come together we believe we have the opportunity to address holistically physical, mental, emotional, spiritual care, and give each person the best chance of recovery and escaping homelessness entirely,” Clark said.
