Within days after the shutdown in March 2020, Desert AIDS Project (DAP) opened its clinic for COVID-19 testing.
The Palm Springs facility synonymous for its care of the HIV-AIDS community had begun to fulfill its destiny as a full-fledged primary care provider, paving the way for a recent brand change to DAP Health. As he looked at his notes, Steven Henke found the discussion for this moment had been taking place over the last decade.
“And so it wasn’t necessarily a new idea,” says Henke, who moved from DAP’s director of community development to director of brand marketing nine months ago to take advantage of his background in the area.
“So we started meeting, talking, and we started surveying different parts of the community; our patients, our donors, and other community partners,” he adds. “We were just really asking folks what they needed us to be, what they wanted us to be. And what came back was two main things. One, it was time to update our name to more accurately reflect the work that we’re doing today and will be doing tomorrow.
But then the surprise came up, which was, “Can you find a way to step into the future, but bring your past with you,” because DAP is so much a part of how we define our pride of place in this community.
Henke speaks further on this transition to DAP Health.