“We belong to you. We have always been a public institution, and we are accountable to the people of our region. We are the only hospital system that belongs to the people,” said Mr. Steve Purves, Valleywise Health President, and CEO, to a room full of community leaders.
Mr. Purves was the keynote speaker at the Leaders Reception at Xico Arte y Cultura this past Thursday, March the 10th, 2022, where members of the Hispanic community had the opportunity to interact with Valleywise Health and Valleywise Health Foundation principals.
Mr. Purves leads the nearly 150-year-old public teaching health system, addressing critical health needs for Arizonans since its beginnings. Valleywise Health Foundation is the 501(c) (3) nonprofit providing community and philanthropic support for Valleywise Health.
Valleywise Health CEO Steve Purves was the keynote speaker at the Leaders Reception at Xico.
Valleywise Mission
“Our mission is improving quality of life for everyone in our community regardless of their income, especially the vulnerable patients, the uninsured, and the communities that have problems with access to healthcare,” said Mr. Purves.
During his presentation, Mr. Purves described the beginnings of the nonprofit, emphasizing its origins during Arizona territorial days. “We have been serving before Arizona became a state. We started as a clinic and later, as a hospital.”
Valleywise Health Foundation and Novle, Community Activators, hosted the event.
Health System for All
Valleywise Health Foundation (formerly Maricopa Health Foundation) raises funds for essential Valleywise Health programs such as burn survivorship care at the Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health, health education, preventative care, refugee health services, integrated behavioral health, and supports the teaching mission of Valleywise Health as they train tomorrow’s healthcare professionals.
Hispanic leaders gathered to hear about Valleywise Health’s mission, history, and accomplishments
The Foundation’s efforts support Arizona’s longest-serving public teaching hospital and community health care system. The system includes Valleywise Health Medical Center (at 24th Street and Roosevelt), the renowned Arizona Burn Center, the Arizona Children’s Center, a Level I Trauma Center, and three behavioral health hospitals. In addition, Valleywise Health manages a network of 11 Federally Qualified Health Centers serving Phoenix and Maricopa County.
During his presentation, Mr. Purves explained the adaptations that needed to be done during the pandemic to better serve the community, such as offering telehealth consultations to patients. “During the emergency, we were concerned our clinics would not be able to provide help, but we stood up a telehealth program within a few days, extending most of our visits to telehealth mode. So today, we are seeing 400,000 visits within our primary care network in Maricopa County, and about 20 to 30 percent of those visits are still done by telehealth,” said Mr. Purves.
Bringing Positive Change Through Awareness and Support
“We are here with leaders determined to bring meaningful change to our communities and happy to showcase the great work Valleywise Health and Valleywise Health Foundation do to improve the health of the underprivileged in Arizona. This is a great call for action for supporting the fundraising efforts for Valleywise Health,” said Carlos Velasco, Novle CEO.
Members of the community enjoyed the Leaders Reception.
The event counted with more than 80 Hispanic leaders from the business, nonprofit, healthcare, government, activist communities, among others, who had the opportunity to listen to Valleywise Health work in the state.
The Leaders Reception was sponsored by Nuñez Law Firm, a leading law firm in the Phoenix metropolitan area, focusing on defending people’s rights in personal injury cases and immigration defense.
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