Cumberland County, N.C., Coalition Receives Grant to Open Free Pharmacy for Low-Income Residents

Four Cumberland County, N.C., agencies -- the Care Clinic, Better Health of Cumberland County, Cape Fear Valley Health System and the county Health Department -- have received a five-year, $250,000 grant from the Cumberland Community Foundation to help launch a free pharmacy for low-income residents, the Fayetteville Observer-Times reports. The pharmacy will help low-income residents apply for free medicines from pharmaceutical companies. According to Janet Lindbloom, director of the county health department, the companies "use the free drugs as a tax write-off. But many people don't know how or where to apply for the medicine." Two pharmacy employees will file the applications and locate new sources of free medicine, Lindbloom said, adding that the pharmacy will also use grant money and free samples to "build a stock of often-used medicines" to fill emergency prescriptions. Ken Plummer, chair of the committee that developed the free pharmacy proposal, called the Cumberland County Medication Access Program, said, "People who are on blood pressure medications, if they don't get the medicines they wind up in the hospital. If they had access to the pharmaceuticals, they wouldn't need to use, at a much higher cost, the emergency room, the ambulance." Although the four agencies have attempted to provide prescription drug assistance in the past, "none could meet the need," Lindbloom said, adding that the county Health Department eliminated a free prescription program last year "because of a tight budget." Plummer predicted that the pharmacy will be able to fill about 20,000 prescriptions per year after two years. The four agencies plan to open the pharmacy in January, but first they must secure additional grant funds from state and local sources to operate the facility (Washington, Fayetteville Observer-News, 7/24).