Local Indian Hotel Owners Provide COVID-19 Support for Valleywise Health Foundation and the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona
Despite difficult times for the hospitality industry, a group of local hotel owners come together to support frontline health care workers and first responders
Phoenix – May 15, 2020
Valleywise Health Foundation would like to thank local Indian hotel owners for generously donating $24,000 to support Valleywise Health Foundation and the Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona. Despite difficult times for the hospitality industry, a group of local hotel owners represented by Dharmesh Ahir, David Ahir, Niraj Dhanani, Sumanbhai Patel, and Nimesh Dinubhai come together to support front-line health care workers and first responders.
The group provided funding for Valleywise Health, Arizona’s public teaching health system to support the health of Maricopa County residents and their staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Valleywise is proud to work closely with community partners to support local frontline heroes.
“It’s been a real dream for the foundation, Valleywise, doctors and nurses,” Valleywise Health Foundation CEO Nate Lowrie said. “We’ve always seen them that way, but now when you see them in the grocery stores, it’s like ‘Oh these are the people taking care of us'”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need and appreciation for frontline health care professionals. Many of the most undeserved and financially vulnerable residents of Maricopa County, are treated at Valleywise Health. Although the hospitality industry has been one of the most affected during the pandemic, this group of local hotel owners came together to recognize the importance of community health.
“We all are suffering, but we feel that the first responders need more help than us right now. They’re the first people who respond to these things, not knowing what the person has. So we thought – this is our time to give back,” hotel owner Dharmesh Ahir said.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said, “To have a strong healthcare system is to have a successful city. We know that we, the City of Phoenix, could not do it without the hospital system that has the ability to treat the community and slow the spread. Excellent healthcare is so critical to ensure we come out of COVID-19 as strong a city as possible. We know that our doctors, nurses and healthcare workers are saving lives every single day and slowing the spread.”
About Valleywise Health and Valleywise Health Foundation
Valleywise Health Foundation is the Phoenix-based 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to providing financial support for critical patient and program needs at Valleywise Health, Arizona’s public teaching health system. The Valleywise Health mission is to provide exceptional care, without exception, every patient, every time – regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. Valleywise is home to the Arizona Burn Center, the only Trauma Center in Maricopa County nationally verified by the American Colege of Surgeons to care for both adults and children, the largest provider of inpatient psychiatric care in Arizona, the first and largest provider of HIV primary care in Arizona, one of Arizona’s longest running and largest physician training programs, now under the umbrella of the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance, and home to the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, providing care to patients from 58 different countries speaking more than 49 languages. The Valleywise Health system includes Valleywise Health Medical Center, Behavioral Health Centers in Mesa, Phoenix and Maryvale, a comprehenisive health center and 11 community health centers throughout Maricopa County. More than 65 percent of Valleywise Health patients are financially vulnerable.
Contact: Valleywise Health Foundation
Marcia Scott – 602-451-4550
MScott@ValleywiseHealthFoundation.org