DAP Health will be participating in this year's Greater Palm Springs Pride, a tradition they've maintained since the event's inception in 1986. According to DAP Health CEO David Brinkman, the entire company is eagerly anticipating the event, especially following their recent integration with Borrego Health.
"Participating in Greater Palm Springs Pride is always a personal highlight of the fall season, not just for me, but for everyone who calls DAP Health home in one fashion or another. At DAP Health, we have always fought for the LGBTQ+ community, championing health care access for nearly four decades. Our acquisition of Borrego Health hasn’t weakened our commitment; it’s fortified our resolve.", said David Brinkman.
According to a press release issued by the organization, DAP Health will host the DAP Health Wellness Pavilion along Palm Canyon Drive on Nov. 4 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and noon to 5 p.m. on Nov. 5. Here, DAP employees and volunteers will provide free sexually transmitted infection testing, harm reduction services and general outreach.
The release also states that over one hundred individuals comprising of employees, patients, donors and volunteers, among others linked to DAP Health, will march in the Sunday morning Pride Parade. They'll be carrying signs displaying names of their clinics or supportive slogans like “Mental Health is Health Care,” “LGBTQ+ Care is Health Care,” and “Drag is Love.”
An important highlight during this year's parade includes Donald Beck - founder of Desert AIDS Project and recipient of this year’s Greater Palm Springs Pride’s Spirit of Stonewall Lifetime Achievement Award - marching immediately before the DAP Health group. Notable early HIV/AIDS activists Les Dames du Soleil Dottie & Maude (Douglas Woodmansee and Marshall Pearcy) will join in as well.
In line with their strengthened resources due to the acquisition of Borrego Health, CEO Brinkman reiterated DAP Health's commitment to fight for health care justice. "We believe health care should know no boundaries," he stated, emphasizing the company's resolve to honor lives lost in the AIDS/HIV epidemic.
Steven Henke, DAP Health Chief of Brand Marketing, also drew attention to the early efforts of drag queens who tirelessly raised funds for their cause. To commemorate this contribution, the slogan “Drag is Love” will feature on DAP Health’s official 2023 Pride Parade t-shirt.
With their recent merger with Borrego Health, DAP Health now boasts a team of 850 dedicated health care professionals catering to over 100,000 patients across 240 southern California zip codes.
Greater Palm Springs Pride, celebrating its 37th year this year, will run from Nov. 2 through Nov. 5, according to the press release.