FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

7/22/10

Mary Howard Health Center and Rising Sun Health Center Selected as the 2010 Fit for Eternity Walk/Run Beneficiaries

PHILADELPHIA— This Saturday, thousands of local area residents will gather for the 2010 Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church Fit for Eternity Walk/Run. Now in its fifth year, the annual event commemorates the church expansion and raises awareness of a local community health issue. This year’s walk/run proceeds will benefit two Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) community health centers: Mary Howard Health Center, which provides comprehensive, continuous health care services to Philadelphia’s homeless population, and Rising Sun Health Center, which provides high-quality, affordable health care to uninsured and underinsured Philadelphians. The race will be held on Saturday, July 24 at 8 a.m. and participants will follow a pleasant yet challenging 5-mile course through Germantown and Mt. Airy.

As the only primary care health center in Philadelphia that exclusively serves the homeless population, Mary Howard Health Center is an invaluable resource offering physical exams and well visits, rapid HIV testing, family planning, substance abuse and mental health referrals, vision care, health education and disease prevention. The center is named after Mary Howard, a homeless Philadelphian who was well known in the community because of her ever-present smile, positive attitude and trademark red lipstick. Howard passed away in 1995 from health conditions that worsened because of her living conditions on the city’s streets. Mary Howard Health Center opened soon after in Center City and now serves 2,100 patients and receives 7,000 visits each year.

Rising Sun Health Center, located in the Northeast section of the city, is unique in that it attracts and services a wide range of cultures and ethnicities, offering high-quality, affordable health care to patients of all ages. The staff at the health center speak a variety of languages, including French and Spanish, and can communicate with and address the needs of a diverse patient population. The majority of the almost 2,000 patients who visit Rising Sun Health Center on a yearly basis are uninsured or underinsured and seek affordable health care in their local neighborhood. Elaine Fox, vice-president of specialized health services at PHMC, will direct the proceeds of Saturday’s race toward expanding and improving the services at both health centers.