East Valley Medical Respite Center opening soon in Mesa

Circle the City, a federally qualified health center dedicated to serving people experiencing homelessness in Maricopa County, will celebrate the grand opening of its East Valley Medical Respite Center at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, in Mesa. The program will include remarks from Circle the City CEO Dr. Kim Despres and founder Sister Adele O’Sullivan.

The 85-bed center at 5456 E. Main St. provides a place where people experiencing homelessness who are medically stable but still recovering from illness or injury can heal instead of being discharged back to the street. Until now, East Valley hospitals and emergency departments have had no step-down option for these patients.

“Too many people leave the hospital with discharge instructions they have no way to follow, because they have nowhere safe to recover,” Despres said in the release. “The East Valley Medical Respite Center changes that. It gives people a clean bed, medical care, and the support they need to heal, and it gives our hospital partners somewhere to send them.”

Patients at EVMRC will receive three fresh meals a day, daily medical care, 24/7 nursing support, behavioral health care, substance use intervention, physical therapy, transportation to appointments, care coordination and case management.

The EVMRC will bring approximately 120 jobs to the area, including physicians, nurses, physical therapists, and case managers, along with more than $13 million in annual local spending.

About Circle the City

Founded in 2008 by Sister O’Sullivan, Circle the City operates three medical respite centers, two outpatient clinics, five mobile medical units and five street medicine teams across the Valley.

Learn more at circlethecity.org.