Notable New Orleanians: A Tricentennial Tribute

CRESCENTCARE
Left: NO/AIDS Walk in 1992.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF GEORGE LONG
AND PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT.
Right: NO/AIDS Walk in 2016.
NO/AIDS Task Force, now known as
CrescentCare, was founded July 1, 1983, in
response to the increasing number of persons
with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS.) At the time, there were neither
designated treatment facilities nor medical
options for those who had been exposed.
Founders William Ruel Morrison, Thomas
H. Norman, and Robert J. Kremitzki, Jr.,
started the organization with a single phone
hotline from a living room. The hotline was a
lifeline for many with abject fear about the
diseases in the early days. In the late 1980s,
Jeffrey Campbell became executive director.
The agency and its support grew as it educated
the community. “Local drag shows at
night spots were instrumental to fundraising
and awareness. As revenue grew, NO/AIDS
expanded services to include case management;
Food For Friends, a home-delivered
meals program; HIV and sexually transmitted
disease (STD) testing; street outreach; and
legal services, among others. The Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation became one of
NO/AIDS Task Force’s first large-scale
sponsors. NO/AIDS has been involved with
Charity Hospital and Project Lazarus
throughout its growth. It is one of the oldest
AIDS service organizations in the nation,
and, in 1993, President Clinton proclaimed
it the third oldest in the nation.
In 1991, NO/AIDS became a Ryan Whitefunded
organization, expanding its capacity
to serve those affected. By 2013, it became
a Federally-Qualified Health Center and
rebranded as CrescentCare. CEO Noel
Twilbeck oversaw the transition/growth to
include care for those not infected by the
virus, too. The change was made possible in
part by the Affordable Care Act. At that
time, the organization opened a primary care
clinic with a dental clinic as the flagship
CrescentCare Health and Wellness Center.
In keeping with its mission statement,
CrescentCare offers health and wellness services
to the community, advocates empowerment
safeguards the rights and dignity of
individuals, and provides for an enlightened
public. It offers primary medical care, dental
care, medical and non-medical case management,
pediatrics, women’s health services,
nutritional counseling, peer support, legal
services, and an abundance of other medical
and social services.
CrescentCare serves over 5,000 primary
care patients, and has more than 700 dental
visits per year. It offers medical and nonmedical
case management for more than
3,000 individuals, provides legal assistance
for over 1,200, and serves hundreds of
individuals via the food bank. Over 8,000
HIV tests are given annually.
With the flagship CCHWC at 3308 Tulane
Avenue, CrescentCare now includes seven
sites and over 300 employees. Plans are underway
to build a new facility at 1631 Elysian
Fields Avenue, absorbing two clinical sites and
two project sites. The facilities will more than
double the capacity of the agency to see clients
in an area that is presently underserved.
CrescentCare will expand services to reach
any New Orleanian in need of healthcare,
regardless of income or insurance status.
Additional information is available at
www.crescentcare.org.
NOTABLE NEW ORLEANIANS: A Tricentennial Tribute
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