FRESH • PHILANTHROPY There are multiple dental clinics through NOAH to help those in need with pressing oral care issues and to educate the population on oral health. (Photo courtesy of NOAH)
Getting to Know NOAH Nonprofit transforms the community’s health By Alison Bailin Batz
I
n 1997, the Valley had a problem in its schools. “There was a severe nursing shortage, so much so that for many schools, having a full-time nurse was a luxury,” says Michael Pearson, director of marketing and engagement for what is today called Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health (NOAH). To help, a program called Neighborhood Outreach Action to Health (also NOAH) was developed through Scottsdale Healthcare. Through it, a traveling nurse practitioner went from school to school across the Scottsdale and Paradise Valley unified school districts and provided on-thespot care for children, especially those from
12
JUNE 2021 | JULY 2021 NORTHVALLEYMAGAZINE.COM
Title I schools and low-income homes. “Within a year, we changed ‘action’ to ‘access’ in our name and realized we needed more manpower due to demand,” Pearson says. NOAH invested in a mobile medical unit and then, by 2001, NOAH began as a way to help children put in a brick-and-mortar gain access to care in the North Valley. health center at Palomino (Photo courtesy of NOAH) Primary School on 29th Street and Greenway as well. 2011,” says Pearson, noting NOAH does still The brick-and-mortar center soon became have the bus, but only as a display and artifact a health center for the community in need, of their humble beginnings now. both adults and children, so much so that “We remained affiliated with Scottsdale NOAH added dental operations at Palomino Healthcare (and later HonorHealth), but the and then slowly opened small centers across change allowed us to apply for critical funding the North Valley, as budgets permitted. to expand our service offerings, staff and “Things moved along at this slower clip locations tenfold. It also allowed us to submit until we made the decision to expand from a for grants.” program and service of the hospital system to our own 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Among the first major grants received
