Local charitable pharmacy recipient of settlement funds
5th September 2011 · 0 Comments
By Kelly Parker
Contributing Writer
What started out as a routine Wednesday for the volunteer staff at the St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy in Gentilly turned out to be anything but, thanks to a visit from Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell.
On August 31st, the local charitable pharmacy was presented with a check for $68,000 to help continue serving the community’s uninsured.
Last week, Caldwell announced the distribution of more than $620,000 in settlement funds to 12 registered charitable pharmacies across the state. The St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy was the lone non-profit organization in New Orleans presented with a portion of the settlement funds.
“This grant could not have come at a better time and will greatly assist us as we continue to try to meet the needs of our community,” Director of Pharmacy Services, Jacqueline Hall said.
The funds are part of multi-state settlements reached with two of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits management companies: Express Scripts, Inc. and Caremark Rx, L.L.C. for alleged violations of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Thanks to the efforts of the AG’s Consumer Protection Division; in coordination with other state attorneys general, the state pursued the matter and joined in the multi-state litigation and received a portion of the settlement proceeds.
“These types of consumer related enforcement actions send a loud and clear message that no one can come to the state of Louisiana and take advantage of or scam our citizens, Caldwell stated. “We simply will not tolerate it.”
According to the AG’s office, St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy is one of the 12 registered charitable pharmacies in the state of Louisiana. These charitable pharmacies are non-profit organizations, and must comply with Title 46, Chapter 21 of the states Administrative code. After receiving applications from each of the pharmacies, the amount of funding distributed was determined by a formula that took into account factors such as number of prescriptions filled annually, population served, and geographic location.
The cause is one close to the Attorney General’s heart; his mother was an RN and a few of his relatives actually worked as pharmacists.
“You have a friend in me,” he told the pharmacy staff. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
The St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy was established in 1998, to offer prescription medication free of charge to the underserved population of the New Orleans community; namely the homeless, indigent and elderly. With Hurricane Katrina, and the recent economic recession that followed, the number of uninsured and working poor in the city has grown immensely.
According to Jacqueline Hall, this underserved population could not afford the cost of life sustaining medication and as a result, often make detrimental health decisions concerning their prescription drug therapy.
St. Vincent de Paul Executive Director, Deacon Rudy Rayfield agrees.
“We are a last resort for prescription assistance for countless individuals in this city; many often chose between food and medication,” he says. “This funding is very significant, as so many organizations are experiencing financial hardships. We realize that it’s a tremendous blessing to receive this support from the Attorney Generals’ office; which will allow us continue to help our community.”
The staff of volunteer retired pharmacists provides medication to treat, hypertension, eye and ear ailments, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, as well as other ailments.
“We also provide a diabetes disease state management education program,” Hall told the Louisiana Weekly.
“The money these pharmacies receive has an exponential impact on the community, Caldwell adds. “If someone is able to obtain necessary prescriptions now, it is less likely that a situation will arise where their health is in jeopardy or that they might end up with a very costly hospital stay or emergency room visit that they couldn’t possibly afford. We would really like to emphasize how important these pharmacies are to communities around the state. You truly cannot put a price tag on the services they perform for the citizens of our state.”
“The compassion and dedication of our staff is instrumental in making a difference in a lot of people’s lives, Hall stated. “Over the years we have found that the need for our service has not changed; only the face of need has changed. We are grateful that we are here to help during their time of need.”
This article was originally published in the September 5, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
