The Chase
Created by (and named after) the late, world-renowned interior designer Steve Chase — an early DAP Health donor, volunteer, and board member who worked touring the globe but loved Palm Springs best — this glittery gala is a golden star on the desert’s social calendar.
Co-chairs Kevin Bass, Lauri Kibby, and Scott Nevins promise an evening rife with messages to inspire guests to think more boldly about the future of wellness throughout the Coachella Valley.
Tickets, and more information, are available at daphealth.org/thechase.
Our Why
Today, thousands of our friends and neighbors have no access to health care. Together, likeminded philanthropists of all stripes can change that by joining the nonprofit’s mission to create a healthier tomorrow by giving a voice to the often forgotten and by making sure none of us ever forgets that health care is not only human care, but a human right.
When: Saturday, March 25
When the dazzling 29th Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards (AKA The Chase) return as an all in-person event outdoors at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Saturday, March 25, the show will feature Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor and musician Darren Criss as its headline performer. The DAP Health Equity Award will be presented to fashion icon and philanthropist Donna Karan. Desert Healthcare District & Foundation CEO Dr. Conrado E. Bárzaga and the organization’s board of directors will be honored with the DAP Health Humanitarian Award.
Karan believes that through creativity, collaboration, connection, and community one can change the world. This conviction lies at the heart of Urban Zen, established by Karan in 2007. The foundation is dedicated to three initiatives: preservation of culture (past); bringing mind, body, and spirit to health care (present); and education (future).
“The Desert Healthcare District & Foundation is the epitome of what the DAP Health Humanitarian Award stands for, and we can think of no organization more deserving to receive this honor,” says DAP Health CEO David Brinkman. “It’s a testament to leadership shown by Dr. Conrado E. Bárzaga and the board during both the COVID-19 and mpox crises. It allowed our organization to make an enormous impact on the lives of valley residents.”
Attendees of The Chase can expect a fast-paced evening led by returning host Michael Urie (a Drama Desk Award-winning star of the new Apple TV+ hit comedy series “Shrinking”), with additional performances by Broadway’s Nick Adams (Hulu’s “Fire Island”) and Saycon Sengbloh, a Tony Award nominee.
“Your presence at The Chase, beyond signaling your support for our honorees, shows your continued commitment to DAP Health’s 10,000+ patients and clients,” continues Brinkman. “Every attendee can count themselves among the bighearted humanitarians who help remove roadblocks to quality care and supportive services for their neighbors and friends so that everyone may live life to their fullest potential.”
Presenting Sponsor Eisenhower Health
The event is presented by Eisenhower Health, a longtime supporter of DAP Health that shares its vision of creating a community where everyone has access to health care and to lives lived with wellness. Eisenhower Health’s President and Chief Executive Officer Marty Massiello explains, “The health care needs of the Palm Springs community present unique challenges. According to recent statistics, the prevalence rate of people living with HIV in Palm Springs is more than 21 times higher than California overall. Eisenhower Health, like our community partner DAP Health, is dedicated to understanding and treating the specific needs of this first generation of people who are aging with HIV. Providing HIV specialists and focusing on both prevention and treatment are vital to advancing health care equality in our community. It’s events like The Chase that help raise awareness, and much-needed funds, to meet these unique health care advancements that both organizations see among our patients.”
Eisenhower Health has been a supporter of DAP Health for decades. “DAP Health and Eisenhower Health share the same vision and the same values,” continues Massiello. “Our organizations envision a community where everyone has access to the care they need, when they need it. We continue to collaborate and innovate together to meet the expanding needs of our valley. We are proud to support the work DAP Health is doing to redefine what health care is and what it can be in the future — including the many social determinants that inform wellness, including housing, health care access, nutrition, and mental health.”
Special Thanks to Amazon for Its Support.
Preceding the main event, guest arrival will take place on an expanded Blue Carpet that honors health care workers and that will grant entrance to Amazon’s Amazing Cocktail Party, where local sensation DJ Modgirl will spin. Amazon is proud to invite attendees of The Chase to think big during the cocktail party. “We imagine a room filled with local leaders communicating bold ideas that inspire our community to create a better path to health care,” says Amazon’s Head of External Affairs & Community Engagement for The West and Inland Empire David Ambroz.
Explaining the synergy between DAP Health and Amazon, Ambroz continues: “What I saw during my first tour has stayed with me all year. I noticed that DAP Health approaches innovation the same way Amazon does — we start with our customers and work backward. DAP Health remains patient-centric in its delivery of human care and development of new ways to improve health and wellness.”
Brinkman: “Amazon serves the valley’s residents, business owners, and employees. The organization has made a long-term commitment to our community, having done business here for more than 10 years, and we are grateful for the company’s prioritization of equitable access to health care for everyone. DAP Health looks forward to partnering with Amazon all year long as we increase the positive impact we can make together. As a leader in our community, Amazon has a vision for — and commitment to — our success.”
About DAP Health
Founded in 1984 by a group of community volunteers, DAP Health is an internationally renowned humanitarian health care organization and federally qualified health center (FQHC). In 2012, the nonprofit expanded its scope to care for all people.
Thanks to nearly 40 years of caring for people both directly and indirectly affected not only by the HIV/AIDS epidemic but by various other public health emergencies, DAP Health has the physical and intellectual resources, the desire, and — most importantly — the imagination to effect even greater positive change in the desert and beyond.
The next epidemic hasn’t surfaced — yet. But just as DAP Health met earlier community health crises decisively and successfully, its experts stand at the ready.
Vision Forward
DAP Health currently serves more than 10,000 patients annually, and every month, more than 100 new patients walk through its doors seeking comprehensive, quality health care. Clearly, there is unmet need.
Vision Forward is DAP Health’s 10-year strategic plan that will see the nonprofit grow to serve 25,000 patients a year by 2025 thanks to expanded medical, dental, and mental health clinics and a new on-campus affordable housing complex that will add 60 units at Vista Sunrise II to the existing 81 units at Vista Sunrise. Grand total: 141.
The future of health care is holistic, innovative, agile, collaborative — and above all — patient-centric. DAP Health puts humanity back into health care. It meets community members where they are. It seeks out and lifts up allies for the betterment of all.
Health care is…
Advocacy • Cultural Competency • Dental Care • Ending Epidemics • Equitable Access
Food Assistance • Gender-affirming Care • Harm Reduction • HIV Care • Housing
LGBTQ+ Health • Mental Health • Mobile Health Care • Primary Care • Recovery
Sexual Health • Social Services • Women’s Health
DAP Health… is health care.
You can help us give a voice to the often forgotten.
Together, we put human care at the forefront of health care.
Experience The Chase 2022 again. These videos will take you Live from the Blue Carpet and behind the scenes at the Valley’s most anticipated fundraising experience. We said we going to ‘gala like never before’ and we did.
