Poarch Band donates $1M for Thrive Alabama facility

HUNTSVILLE — One million dollars.

There was an audible “wow!” from the audience Wednesday when Stephanie Bryan, tribal chair and CEO of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, presented a $1 million check to Mary Elizabeth Marr, chief executive officer of Thrive Alabama.

The presentation kicked off a capital campaign to build a Thrive healthcare facility at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Washington Street in Huntsville. The new facility will provide healthcare services to the underserved Huntsville population, as well as the general public.

“We are here this morning to celebrate the generosity of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians,” Marr said to loud applause as she introduced Bryan

“I will tell you as a community, you cannot ask for someone any better and more passionate about what she is doing for this community, providing quality healthcare for so many individuals,” Bryan said of Marr.

Bryan pointed to the prototype of a Thrive mobile healthcare unit on display during the ceremony to recall her experiences as a young girl.

“I used to get my teeth cleaned in a little Airstream bus going back to the 1980s,” Bryan said. “When we became federally funded, a lot of things changed for our community, a community that was living in poverty. But today we are creating jobs, experiencing economic development, and doing great things in communities – we have made a difference.

“We now have a 72,000 square-foot health clinic that provides services to our members and our employees, so I know how important it is to provide quality healthcare and I am very passionate about that.

“This will serve someone who may not have quality healthcare, and you’re providing something for better quality of life for people.”

Marr shared that she spoke “often, and I mean often” to Mayor Tommy Battle about the fact that healthcare is infrastructure.

“It is as important as roads, as sidewalks, as music venues,” she said. “Of all the things we do in Huntsville, healthcare is a huge, huge part of the infrastructure of our city and right now, we are not living up to the needs for healthcare in Huntsville.”

She said approximately 400 people come to Huntsville every month and she is often told they cannot find healthcare. Marr said people often hear they are not taking new patients; they don’t take Medicaid; they don’t take Medicare.

“Thrive is here as a safety net to take care of those individuals,” she said.

Thrive Alabama has six locations around the city, but this is not sufficient for the underserved population, according to Marr.

“They need one place for all the services we provide,” she said.

Madison County District 6 Commissioner Violet Edwards commended Thrive Alabama for its vision.

“I want you to know how much you are appreciated, how much we look forward to seeing you provide those services … and it will come to pass,” said Edwards. “You have the vision, you have the heart, and you know the community needs you.”

Patrick Robbins, past board president and chairman of the capital campaign, said, “Fifteen years ago, Mary Beth and I were going to Florence to an event … when out of the blue, Mary Beth turned to me and said, ‘Patrick, I think we need our own building.’

“I said, ‘Mary Elizabeth… that is a big dream.’

“This (land) is the fruition of that dream.”