Supporting Health at Home - Senior PharmAssist
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Supporting Health at Home
With the continued uptick in
telehealth services and decrease in
in-person doctor’s visits, Senior
PharmAssist is supporting health
autonomy for our participants by
providing care packages with
needed supplies to stay healthy at
home. These care packages include
health monitoring supplies tailored
to medical conditions (i.e. blood
pressure monitors for those with
high blood pressure, pulse
oximeters for those with respiratory
problems, and digital scales for
those with heart failure), and PPE -
Personal Protective Equipment
(cloth masks), and sanitizing
Pharmacist Jessica Visco demonstrating a home
blood pressure monitor for a participant
cleaners.
These offers are currently available to participants who we regularly see
for medication therapy management services and who have our support to
lower their medication costs. We are grateful for the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the NC Pandemic
Recovery Office (NCPRO) for making this effort possible. We especially
thank the leadership of the NC Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
for advocating for including member clinics like Senior PharmAssist in
this funding opportunity!
Senior PharmAssist continues to offer all of our regular services
(medication management, paying for medicines, tailored referrals, and
Medicare counseling) all remotely at this time – video or phone. We also
offer regular reassurance calls to those who would like them, either just to
check in, or as a way to disseminate important messages, most recently
focused on COVID vaccine and testing information.
COVID-19 Vaccine and
Testing Information
In North Carolina, groups 1 and 2 are now
eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. This
means that healthcare workers engaged
with patients and long-term care staff and
residents and any older adult - 65 and older
– regardless of where they live – are A recent staff meeting - we look
eligible! forward to talking in person again!
Demand far exceeds supply at this time; however, plans are being made to
ensure all who want a vaccine can eventually get one at no cost. There is
also some support for transportation. We are beginning work with a few
partners to ensure that our participants have access to vaccination when it
becomes available in Durham.
For more information contact:
Duke Health - 919-385-0429 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM)
UNC Health - (984)-215-5485 (Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM)
Durham County Public Health vaccine information - 919-560-HELP (919-
560-4357, Monday-Friday, 8:30AM-4:30PM)
To find out which vaccine group you’re in, look here, and for testing
resources for Durham, click here.
We do our best to keep up-to-date COVID-19 information on our website
at www.seniorpharmassist.org/covid .
Join Us Tomorrow!
Remember to Take
Care of Yourself
The approach of March 2021 is a
stark reminder that the COVID-19
pandemic has been with us for
almost a year. This has been a
period of difficulty in almost every
arena of life - concerns about
health, finances, and social
isolation can be understandably
overwhelming. Certainly,
historically marginalized
Pharmacist Sheri Omozokpea preparing communities have had many more
home health kits for participants stressors than others.
While many may think that we have gotten used to living in this new way,
it’s important to remember that humans are social animals, and that
sustained isolation and increased stress take a toll. Please continue to
practice the three W’s (wear a mask, wait 6 ft or more away, and wash
your hands regularly) as the COVID-19 pandemic will be with us for the
foreseeable future. If you need support – there are resources available:
HopeLine - call or text 919-231-4525 or 877-235-4525
Stephen Ministries 919-638-2260
Warmline/Mental Health - 855-284-2494
Alliance Behavioral Health Care - All Offices: 919-651-8401; 24-hr Mobile
Crisis Team: 800-510-9132
Changing of the Board Guard
As we begin a new year, we welcome new board members and give our
thanks to departing members. After many collective years of service, Tom
Bacon, James Blake, and Chuck Wilson have rotated off the board.
We thank them for extending their terms until January given the chaos of
the pandemic. Each of these men made their special contributions – all
generous with their time, talents, and treasure! We will miss them, but
actually, Board members at Senior PharmAssist never really leave, they
just become “advisors!”
We are delighted to welcome three new members: Cheryl Brewer, Ron
Hunter, and Rebecca Reyes. All three bring wonderful energy and
experience to our team. Cheryl is a pillar of the Durham nursing
community, as the Associate Vice President for Nursing at DukeHealth
Private Diagnostic Clinic and is especially passionate about sickle cell
disease. Ron Hunter has been in the Hospitality business for years,
currently as the General Manager at the Radisson RTP and Embassy
Suites. Ron is involved with many local business groups and is
enthusiastic about improving the lives of older adults. Rebecca is a retired
Presbyterian minister, who used her social work degree to support Limited
English Proficiency patients in the Duke medical system for 17 years! This
is her second rotation on our Board and she is excited about outreach to
the growing Latinx community. We are eager to see what we can
accomplish together!
Helping Make Durham a Great Place to Age
Last month, we met Ms. S, who recently moved to Durham from
Massachusetts. When searching for a Medicare plan, the NC Seniors’
Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) referred her to Senior
PharmAssist – we serve as SHIIP coordinating site for Durham County.
She was so pleased to learn about our other services as well: “I just think
you are great, very helpful – there were medications I had been prescribed
that I couldn’t afford to buy and you covered all of them [we lower
copayments after Medicare plans pay first]! I wish you were everywhere.”
We are so glad she found us. Please help us spread the word that anyone
60 and older with Medicare who is struggling to pay for or understand
their medications or Medicare coverage, should give us a call. We work by
appointment and there is no waiting list! All they have to do is call
919.688.4772!
What’s Up in North
Carolina?
Recent changes in how Medicare,
Medicaid, and other insurers can
support community efforts to
improve health outcomes are
creating new opportunities for
expanded impact on the health of
older adults. The recent expansion
of the use and acceptance of
telehealth and virtual care
management are examples of this
flexibility.
Pharmacist Sheri Omozokpea
with pleased participants!
Senior PharmAssist provides four distinct services designed to improve
the well-being of older adults. These services are:
1. Medication Management Services (MMS),
2. Direct financial assistance for medication costs,
3. Tailored community resource referral, and
4. Medicare insurance counseling (via SHIIP).
Our effectiveness has been documented to have a significant, durable
impact on participants’ health and costs (see our most recent program
evaluation here).
In collaboration with state-wide organizations (including the NCDHHS
Division of Aging and Adult Services and the Office of Rural Health), we
are conducting a survey to identify the availability of each of these four
activities across the State (coordinated by a wonderful UNC public health
graduate school intern, with nearly 250 responses to date!!).
Survey goals include:
· Identify the current prevalence of these services by county (including
which organizations are providing them and at what scale)
· Identify organizations either interested in adopting or expanding
models, collaboration with others, or sharing expertise with others in the
State.
We will keep you posted as this exciting effort moves forward.
Senior PharmAssist | 919-688-4772 | www.seniorpharmassist.org
406 Rigsbee Ave, Ste. 201, Durham, NC 27701
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