For nearly 30 years, Dr. Bruce Murray cared for patients at the Grants Pass Clinic. When he retired from private practice in 2017, his work in medicine didn’t end. Instead, it became even more personal.
After years of providing medical care to refugees in Africa and Asia, Dr. Murray understood something many people never see: healing requires more than medicine. Without shelter, stability, and support, even treatable illnesses and injuries can become life-threatening.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he volunteered for a year at Rogue Retreat’s temporary shelter in Grants Pass, providing medical care for participants in the Medical Respite program while also serving on Josephine County’s COVID response team.
In 2022, Dr. Murray became the first Medical Director for the Mobile Integrative Navigation Team (MINT), bringing medical care directly to people living in parks and encampments. Through outreach, he saw firsthand how difficult recovery can be for someone with nowhere safe to heal.
When Rogue Retreat expanded its Medical Respite program at the Redwood Inn, Dr. Murray immediately recognized its value and began referring patients.
The Rogue Retreat Medical Respite program saved multiple lives of our unsheltered friends. People were finally able to get the time they needed to heal from injuries, and because they were housed, they could receive consistent in-home care.
Today, Rogue Retreat’s Medical Respite program includes beds at both the Redwood Inn and Kelly Shelter, providing medically vulnerable individuals with a safe place to recover while receiving case management and ongoing medical support. By helping people heal before returning to independent living, the program also reduces costly emergency room visits.
Dr. Murray retired from MINT and active medical practice in 2025, but he remains a strong advocate for Rogue Retreat and its mission. MINT continues to partner with Rogue Retreat while developing Parker’s Place Village, a managed shelter community in Grants Pass that will provide approximately 150 emergency shelter beds along with medical services, case management, behavioral health support, and housing navigation.
Even in retirement, Dr. Murray continues to serve meals to people experiencing homelessness throughout the Grants Pass area. His life is a reminder that some of the most meaningful healing doesn’t happen in a clinic. It begins with compassion, dignity, and a willingness to serve others.