The Partners for Life Season Opens with a Story of Healing  

A beautiful evening, empowering messages, and a dazzling performance by Keisha D. This was the November 9 Season Opening Partners for Life event hosted at the home of Doug Chadwick, with catering provided by Lulu's California Bistro. It was the first Partners for Life gathering in almost two years continuing the theme of the organization's October 30 Desert AIDS Walk - Together Again.  

DAP Health CEO David Brinkman addressed supporters, providing an update on the advocacy-based healthcare organization and its focus on health equity.  

Explaining how DAP Health's roots in community care continue to guide future planning, Brinkman explained “We believe that everyone deserves to be healthy and that stems from our unique history." 

“Our founding 37 years ago at the beginning of the AIDS crisis was fraught with horrific human suffering, denied medical care, and outright cruelty. Hard-won lessons learned throughout our history led us to our health equity movement: Our fight to be healthy, our fight for our human rights.”  

Joining Brinkman on stage was singer and humanitarian, Keisha D who was honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in 2020. Keisha D has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community and young people in our community. She established the Keisha D scholarship, an endowment through the Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) that is awarded to underserved minority students who wish to pursue education in music and performing arts. 

Keisha D shared her experience at DAP Health. When she arrived for her first appointment, she felt hopeless because of her medical challenges.   

“I was lying in bed, I was 105 pounds, and I could barely lift my head,” Keisha D told attendees. “They rolled me in a wheelchair to see Dr. (David) Morris and I told him that all I want you to do is set me up for hospice. I am sick of this. I want to die. I don’t want to do this anymore."  

“Dr. Morris (DAP Health’s Chief Medical Officer) told me, ‘That is not what we are in the business to do. We’re in the business to heal you."  

"That’s what they have done". Keisha D pointed out as she confidently stood on the stage.   

But Keisha D can do much more than that today.  She performs every Monday night at The Purple Room in Palm Springs, as well as several other venues and events around the Coachella Valley.  Her voice was strong and empowering as she performed “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going,” from the hit musical Dreamgirls.  

She expressed what DAP Health means to her and the community. 

Illustrating the importance of access to comprehensive health care. Keisha D pointed out her illness was not HIV-related. The care she received at DAP Health was something she was not receiving from her previous care teams.  

“I’m telling you, from my heart, thank you for letting it be possible that this facility is open for anybody. I have a lot of other doctors who could not help me. And so, what you are doing, it's amazing.”  

In his update, Brinkman shared that DAP Health is working hard to expand its services. Free STI testing and treatment has been extended, partially due to the growing demands during the pandemic. 

During the pandemic, DAP Health opened the Marc Byrd Behavioral Health Clinic to address a growing need in mental health. A move that will double the organization's capacity to meet a growing and urgent need for care.  

Sharing that DAP Health will soon break ground on a new affordable housing project, Brinkman said “Together we can build a more just, equal, and healthy community right here in the desert."  

"Because of you, the DAP Health community is a leader in the work of health equity. Our founding, our advances in our health equity movement, drive us to find solutions for hunger, housing, addiction and to expand health access for our diverse community.”     

About DAP Health's Partners for Life

For over 30 years, members of the Partners for Life (PFL) program have provided generous financial support to help DAP Health with their ongoing battle to end epidemics like HIV and COVID; to provide equitable patient-centered health care to anyone who needs it; and to focus on the entire person's health through behavioral health and addiction services, dentistry, career counseling and placement, housing, social services, youth outreach and education, and more.  

As an advocacy-based health care organization, DAP Health offers access to care to over 10,000 clients annually, plus over 80 new individuals who visit our campus for the very first time every month.  

Learn more about becoming a member of Partners for Life 

Desert retirement with Revivals Stores 

Meet Larry Boyle and Terry DeBhur.

Boyle and DeBuhr moved go the Coachella Valley from Chicago two years ago. They arrived July 5, 2019, with two dogs and hope for an active and enjoyable retirement. As volunteers at Revivals, they have found that.

DeBhur grew up in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the Troubles, but always knew there was a larger world to explore. Boyle grew up in a small rural town in Iowa, and he left at the first opportunity for graduate school in Claremont in 1971. Terry and Larry met in London nearly 25 years ago and were married in 2014. After retiring from their academic life at Loyola University Chicago, they packed up and left for the desert. 

While still living in Chicago, the men frequently visited the Coachella Valley and enjoyed shopping at Revivals. After a year of settling in to desert life — which was interrupted by a pandemic — they began to volunteer as cashiers at the Cathedral City Revivals store. They enjoy working with Revivals staff and volunteers, talking to customers, and doing some shopping themselves.   

In addition to the volunteer work at Revivals, Boyle and DeBhur enjoy leading hikes on desert mountain trails. DeBhur is an avid creative writer and enjoys putting his reflections into poetry. Boyle enjoys wildflower hunting and photography. 

An update on the COVID-19 vaccine and recommendations for a third dose

DAP Health Insights – Monday, September 6, 2021, from David Brinkman, CEO 

COVID-19 vaccine: A message from Dr. David Morris, DAP Health Chief Medical Officer

The majority of our patients living with HIV are healthy and thriving, but unfortunately some are moderately to severely immunocompromised. The CDC recommends  some immunocompromised individuals consider a third COVID-19 dose. HIV positive patients  whose CD4 cell count is <200/mm3 or CD4 percentage is 14 or less who want information about the COVID-19 vaccine should log into MyChart and send a message to their clinician, who can confidentially discuss their medical history and make a personalized recommendation. Click here for more information.

Revivals volunteer Steven Shuman finds purpose and unity through giving back

Steven Shuman grew up in Miami and attended the University of Florida. After college, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, where he worked for the Internal Revenue Service for 33 years before retiring in 2008. For the next six years, he worked in real estate.

In 2015, Shuman and his husband, Brad Kane, moved to Palm Springs. Once settled in the desert, Shuman wanted to find a way to occupy his time while also giving back to his community. A friend referred him to Revivals, the local nonprofit thrift store that donates 100% of its net profits to DAP Health.

Shuman can be found at the store three mornings a week. "I enjoy what I do there," he says. "One of my favorite stories here is when I was going through a bag and found a $100 bill, which also went to Revivals." Read more about Shuman from The Desert Sun.

Conversations about HIV and Aging: Brett

Q: How has living with HIV changed your perspective on aging?      

A: When I tested positive in 1993, I figured I had months to live. Now, 28 years later, I feel that whatever time remains is a gift, and so I try to live each day as positive as possible. 

Q: What does community mean to you? Where do you find your 'tribe' to support your journey?         

A: Community and a sense of ‘tribe’ means a lot to me. I’ve been blessed with having a tribe of my partner and close friends that support and nurture me when I need it most. I’ve also been highly involved with being an HIV and LGBTQ volunteer for many organizations that bring me joy. 

Q: What's the best advice you've been given? 

A: Don’t sweat the small stuff. My dad told me that since childhood, and while it’s not always easy to stick to it, I do try. 

Q: What have you learned about yourself living with HIV that your younger self would be surprised by?         

A: That I’m resilient and can take care of myself when needed most. I wasn’t always a leader, but now I’ve embraced my tenacity and voice when it comes to HIV and aging and living with HIV. 

Q: What song do you play when you need to motivate yourself?         

A: There are a few, but “Rise,” by Katy Perry comes to mind. It puts me in a soulful, reflective mindset, especially this version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U85U3dPuiR4. 

Q: How did the U=U message shift your outlook on dating and connection? 

A: I love the campaign and only wish it was present much earlier in the pandemic cycle. After so many years of living in a mindset of self-doubt, rejection, and feeling ‘other than,’ it’s hard to release my mind to this message with some interactions, with those still so uninformed about HIV and transmission. 

Q: What challenges have you faced aging with HIV?  

A: Many challenges over the years, from an AIDS diagnosis and 20 T cells, to now thriving due to medications. Although, my medication regimen is the last of the line for what will work given that I’m resistant to all of the current one-pill and other treatments. 

Q: What service or support group has made the biggest positive impact on your health and wellness?          

A: Being part of both the AIDS/LifeCycle and Dining Out For Life have been supportive at many levels, and they’ve enabled me to find my “voice” when it comes to public speaking, showing my weaknesses, strengths, and plotting the path forward. 

Q: What do you do to take care of your mental health?       

A: Not well enough some days, but I continue to try my best through positive external activities, community gatherings, and riding my bike as much as I can. 

Q: What do you want people reading this to know about aging with HIV?   

A: That it doesn’t have to define you, and it doesn’t have to be a death sentence, either. Aging is a process that you can embrace. 

Q: What's your goal for the future? What do you hope to be doing in the next 5-10 years personally or career-wise? 

A: Now that’s the $10,000 question. At 60 now, I’m looking at ten years remaining for work potentially, and so what will that be and where? My dream would be to close out my work life with a nonprofit that provides grants to LGBTQ organizations that are struggling. 

Q: What's your pro-tip for someone newly diagnosed with HIV?

A: Get into care immediately, including a support group or activity with others who are HIV positive. Let their guiding light and love flow into you. 

Q: What book or movie inspired you most?

A: “The Front Runner.” It speaks to my childhood, my goals, my struggles, and continues to bring me happiness, sadness, grief, and hope, even after reading it for the fourth time. 

Q: What's your personal mantra?   

A: Om mani padme hum. It means that in dependence on the practice of a path, which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha. 

Contact: Steven Henke                               
Director of Brand Marketing
(612) 310-3047
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 2, 2021

DAP Health Opens Registration for Desert AIDS Walk 2021

“Together Again” Ending the HIV Epidemic  

More than 2,000 local humanitarians will come together to end the HIV epidemic, expand healthcare access, and remember those friends and family members who we lost because of AIDS. 

The 2021 Desert AIDS Walk, presented by Desert Care Network, will be an in-person event Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, beginning at Ruth Hardy Park and following a route through downtown Palm Springs.  The family and pet-friendly event includes a Health and Wellness Village presented by Walgreens.  Businesses interested in sponsoring the walk or participating in the wellness festival should contact Director of Development James Lindquist at [email protected].

Walker Registration is now available online at www.desertaidswalk.org.

The annual Desert AIDS Walk helps fund the vital work of DAP Health, previously Desert AIDS Project, an advocacy-based healthcare organization that provides service to more than 10,000 individuals. DAP Health CEO David Brinkman says, "We remain committed to ending the epidemic and caring for people living with HIV. That work includes the vital services we offer, including HIV prevention and specialty care, STI screening and treatment, housing support, benefits navigation, medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare.”

This year marks 40 years of HIV with the first reported cases about what would become known as HIV and AIDS published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Brinkman says, “AIDS taught us a community response is the most effective response. It taught us that we cannot turn our backs when communities are in need and in fear, that we must remember our humanity and the gift of giving back and be there to help. And as we have learned through our recent human rights and health equity movements, equality cannot be experienced by one until it is experienced by all.”

Since 1984, residents of the Coachella Valley have been coming together as a community in action caring for those living with and now aging with HIV. DAP Health Chief Development and Strategy Officer Darrell Tucci says, “Desert AIDS Walk brings together the collective power of community and our shared vision of a future where everyone has the comprehensive care they need to live their best lives.”

After 40 years, public health officials and activists see a pathway to end the AIDS epidemic. It starts with treatment.

With proper medical care, those living with HIV can reduce the viral load in their blood to an undetectable level. When HIV can’t be detected it can’t be transmitted, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

Health officials and activists are now championing the message that undetectable equals untransmittable, or U=U. 

“The concept of U=U is the foundation of being able to end the epidemic,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in 2019. 

The U=U campaign also aims to end the stigma around HIV. That stigma keeps too many people from getting tested for HIV or obtaining the care they need to stay healthy. The result of 40 years of research is that people living with HIV can suppress the virus and live long lives with medication.

“They can have sex, babies, love — all with no risk,” says HIV activist Bruce Richman, who founded the Prevention Access Campaign, which started the U=U message.

“But if a person doesn’t know they have HIV, that person won’t get access to the medication to stay untransmittable,” Richman says.

“If we really want to end the epidemic and save lives, we’re going to make sure that we invest in the wellbeing of people living with HIV, so they can stay healthy and prevent new transmissions,”

“DAP Health’s integrated model of services supports those people living with HIV on their journey to U=U,” says C.J. Tobe, DAP Health’s director of Community Health and Sexual Wellness.

“At DAP Health we learned through the AIDS crisis that becoming undetectable is more than taking daily medication,” Tobe says. “It is a combination of factors such as a roof over your head, food in your belly, staying on top of your mental health, and following through on routine oral health exams.”

A Commitment to Health Equity

DAP Health’s care team and experts are making a conscious effort to talk about health equity more, because the CDC and the CDPH both say we need health equity for people if we’re going to beat COVID-19.

“Health equity means that everyone has the opportunity to be healthy based on their needs, not on their ability to pay,” says Brinkman. “It also means no one should feel like an outsider once they come inside to see a doctor or psychologist.

“But getting people to take that first step can be difficult.”

Discrimination — against the poor, LGBTQ individuals and racial minorities — also increases the likelihood people will avoid essential care.

“If you’re told by society over and over again that you’re bad, wrong, inferior and not good enough, then you come to believe it after a while,” says Dr. Jill Gover, a licensed clinical psychologist who leads DAP Health’s Behavioral Health department. “And with the inadequacy comes shame.”

“The intersection of oppression and poverty can create feelings of unworthiness, which are barriers to care,” she says.

To break down these barriers, DAP Health is making it easier for people to ask for help in several important ways. DAP Health has culturally competent doctors and therapists who can see patients from home, or onsite at the DAP campus. Social-services access has also been expanded for help with life essentials during this pandemic.

DAP Health’s dedication to cultural humility has its care team leaning in to get to know their patients, instead of assuming a one-size-fits-all approach works.

“At DAP Health, you’ll be helped by someone who understands what you’ve been through, without you having to spell it out for them. It’s that simple,” says Carl Baker, DAP Health’s Director of Legislative and Legal Affairs. “And if they don’t look exactly like you, then rest assured they’ve been trained in cultural competence, and they are your ally.”

Once people begin getting care at DAP Health, they become part of the family.

“Health equity at DAP Health means no one wonders if they belong — they just feel it,” says Brinkman. 

Desert AIDS Walk funds the vital work of DAP Health:

*All data via USD Report [what is the USD Report] January 2020 – December 2020

• Primary Care — More than 10,000 individuals call DAP Health their patient-centered healthcare home. In the earliest days of the AIDS crisis, DAP Health discovered health outcomes for our HIV-positive clients increased when we provided healthcare to their life partners and family members who were acting as caregivers. Today, DAP Health offers leading HIV specialty care and primary care for our community members not living with HIV, because there is enough love in this valley to help everyone thrive and prevent new cases of HIV.
• Transgender Care — DAP Health is guiding more transgender, intersex, and gender diverse clients on their gender journeys. Too many transgender individuals in the Inland Empire assume they will never access stigma-free and competent care. At DAP Health they never have to worry.
• Dental Care — Dental access is vital for good health, especially for people living with HIV. Good oral health is directly tied to better health outcomes. Patients took care of their smiles at DAP Health with attention from dentists and dental hygienists in 3,437 visits.
• Ending the HIV Epidemic — New HIV infections are rising, but the best way to help everyone protect themselves and each other is with free and accessible testing. Our testing team met clients where they were, in our sexual health clinic or out in the community, and we helped people take control with 8,065 HIV tests. Thanks to our EIS team, the shock of a new HIV diagnosis for 47 people was met with linkage to medical and behavioral healthcare, including wellness and social services for the long haul.
• HIV At-Home Self Testing — When we noticed increasing HIV at a time when patients say they are afraid to leave home, we brought free grant funded testing tools to them via mail. By providing confidential and free testing with the option of guidance from a DAP team member, we are keeping our promise to fight HIV in the Coachella Valley. DAP provided 402 HIV self-test kits, preventing dangerous delays in HIV testing.
• Linked to HIV Care ASAP — Many people do not get tested for HIV because the prospect of managing HIV for the rest of their lives is overwhelming. But DAP Health has been standing by every person it has tested for HIV for 37 years. When it comes to linking those tested to meaningful medical and behavioral healthcare that improves health outcomes and reduces new transmissions, DAP Health has a 97% success rate.
• Courage to Resume Antiretroviral (ART) Treatment — Economic and housing instability, behavioral health challenges, or simply getting overwhelmed can cause PLWHA to fall out of care. Thanks to our EIS team, 96 patients resumed their life-sustaining medical care because a DAP specialist reached out to let them know they matter and offered a way back. Ninety-six PLWHA learned it’s not too late to Resume ART Treatment
• Sexual Wellness – Free STI screening and treatment. Because we will not stop the spread of HIV and STIs in the Coachella Valley if we do not make testing and treatment available to everyone. We helped 947 patients heal from STIs like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in 1,615 visits.
• Finding Safer Sex with PrEP Navigation — HIV has not taken a break, but we made it easy for 217 patients to protect themselves and others with access to PrEP. Our PrEP Navigators make sure patients understand the program, cost, and health information in a private, supportive, and safe setting. During the COVID health crisis, we kept PrEP available to patients while they sheltered in place, with telephone consults, medication delivery, and sanitized testing environments at DAP Health.
• Behavioral Healthcare — Coping with HIV and life can be overwhelming. DAP Health Behavioral Health clinicians help our community find hope. Because with the right support, we can get through almost any storm. Behavioral health and addiction treatment are included as critical components of DAP Health’s Primary Care, because if untreated, these issues get in the way of our patients’ health. We helped 1,388 patients cope with depression and mood disorders in 10,728 visits. Substance abuse, especially with alcohol and crystal meth, disproportionately harms the LGBTQ+ community and PLWHA in the Coachella Valley. We helped 704 patients address substance and alcohol issues in 3,537 visits.
• Community Health Education — Our team meets patients where they are on their journey providing education throughout the year at events across the Coachella Valley at 115 presentations attended by 1,545 individuals.
• Social Services — Case managers make accessing healthcare and support services a reality for DAP Health clients. Our case managers help clients secure transportation, food, housing, and enrolling for federal, state, and local resources to cover care. In a complex healthcare system, DAP Health takes the worry out of obtaining and keeping care.
• Housing — DAP Health helps clients move into permanent residences and is developing more opportunities. Housing assistance is part of our prescription. Access to medication is not enough to treat HIV — it also requires a place to live.
• Back to Work — DAP Health's back-to-work program has assisted hundreds of clients to re-enter the workforce when they were ready. This includes internet and computer access, resume coaching, and job placement. DAP Health helps clients determine readiness for employment and supports them throughout the process. Because having a job can be powerful medicine supports wellbeing by staying connected to their community, develop employment skills and helps provide a sense of self-worth.
• Client Wellness — A range of services, classes, and support groups make DAP Health a community hub. By providing classes such as yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, and reiki, we’re able to provide care for the whole person and a safe space for connection. The AIDS crisis taught us that holistic health works. In addition, DAP Health provides groups centered around aging with HIV, addiction and recovery advocacy, and much more. DAP Health understands that when a few people get together to support each other, an entire humanitarian movement can be born.
• Responding to COVID — DAP Health opened one of California’s first COVID clinics and hotlines to offer screening, testing, and treatment. A total of 3,698 coronavirus tests were completed.

Desert AIDS Walk Sponsors

Presented By: Desert Care Network

Health and Wellness Village Presenting Sponsor: Walgreens

Major sponsors: Gilead, Grace Helen Spearmen Charitable Foundation, NBC Palm Springs and The Desert Sun

Other Sponsors: CV Independent, Gay Desert Guide, KGay, Promo Homo TV, Rage Monthly, and Revivals Stores

About DAP Health

DAP Health is an advocacy-based health center in Palm Springs, Calif., serving more than 10,000 patients, offering medical and mental healthcare, STI testing and treatment, dentistry, pharmacy, and lab services. A variety of wraparound services enable patients to experience optimal health, including social services, support groups, alternative therapies, and other wellness services. Excellent HIV care is provided by the largest team of specialized clinicians in the area.    

DAP Health opened one of California’s first COVID clinics and hotlines to offer screening, testing, and treatment. DAP Health also is working to address the social determinants of health that are causing negative health outcomes during this pandemic, like food and housing insecurity, joblessness, isolation, and access to ongoing healthcare.

DAP Health’s sexual health clinic offers STI testing and treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) testing. DAP Health has earned Charity Navigator’s highest rating for the twelfth consecutive year — landing DAP in the top 6% of nonprofits rated. The distinction recognizes that DAP Health exceeds industry standards in terms of financial health, accountability, and transparency.    

Visit www.daphealth.org to learn more.