A regional HIV/AIDS research center has found a new home in an old building in downtown Phoenix.
The Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS will move into the former home of KPNX on Central Avenue due to its proximity to the light rail and the Downtown campus, said Carol Poore, the center’s president and CEO. The old KPNX building is at 1101 North Central Avenue.
The Southwest Center is a nonprofit research and resource organization based in Arizona with a stated mission of “reducing infection, improving quality of life and contributing to worldwide research,” according to its website. The center is currently at 12th Street and McDowell Road.
Poore said the new location will house both the center and its long-term community-health partner, the McDowell Healthcare Center, which is operated by the Maricopa Integrated Health Services. Having the two centers under the same roof will “help improve coordination and health care among clients the two agencies have in common,” Poore said.
The building was chosen in part due to its proximity to the light rail, the Downtown campus and medical partners, said Poore, a three-time ASU alumna. The closeness to ASU is important because the center fosters a relationship with the university through student volunteers, she said.
“Students have helped with several fund-raising events and galas,” Poore said.
Students can serve as ambassadors, silent-auction helpers, and meet-and-greeters, and they have also put together condom packages as part of outreach programs promoting safety.
“We try to make volunteer opportunities realistic,” Poore said.
Cheryl Herrera, services director for the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, said volunteer experiences such as those offered by the Southwest Center are important for students.
“We recommend (students) do some volunteer work to see if nursing is the right job for them,” Herrera said.
The center is still in planning mode, Poore said. Construction is set to begin later in the fall, and the the building will “most likely open in the late summer of 2012,” she said.
The groundbreaking event for the center is scheduled to take place Thursday, Oct. 13, at 8:30 a.m. with the City of Phoenix and is open to the public. A short ceremony will take place, followed by a tour of the building, Poore said.
Contact the reporter at carolina.m.lopez@asu.edu
