After several years serving with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in California, Sister Adele O’Sullivan is back full-time at Circle the City, the Phoenix-based nonprofit healthcare group that works to meet the individual needs of men, women, and children that are facing homelessness in Maricopa County, Arizona.
The founder of Circle the City, Sister Adele’s new role is as the Director of Mission Engagement and to support and assist the Development and Human Resources departments at the organization. Services are provided at our Medical Respite Centers, and health centers as well as out in the field with our mobile and street medicine teams.
After her initial career as a pharmacist, Sister Adele and her community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, recognized greater healthcare needs in underserved populations. She then earned her medical degree from the University of Arizona in 1984 and returned as a doctor to care for people living on the street.
During that time, Sister Adele noticed a lack of sanitary conditions for wound care, challenges with medication management, and the lack of a place for people to rest and recover from a serious illness or injury. That inspired Sister Adele’s vision for a medical respite center for people facing homelessness. The first donations were kept in a shoebox. As donations and community support grew, Circle the City opened Arizona’s first respite center for people facing homelessness in 2012.
Today, Circle the City operates two medical respite centers, two outpatient healthcare clinics, and five mobile medical units that provide care to shelters, transitional living centers, and hard to reach areas.
In 2012, Circle the City opened the doors of Arizona’s first respite center, the Midtown Medical Respite Center– a 50-bed recuperative care facility for men and women facing homelessness to rest, heal, and recover. Patients also received daily medical care, food, and case management, and other necessities.
Circle the City has become one of the most dynamic and innovative nonprofit healthcare organizations for people facing homelessness in the country. As the nonprofit grows, it remains rooted in providing Sister Adele’s vision of high-quality healthcare with compassion, dignity, and respect.
