Thursday, April 10, 2014

Internal Medicine Residents Assist Patients with Medication Costs

While many were consumed with the hustle-bustle of this past holiday season, an abundance of patients in southern Alabama struggled to find means to fill their medications. The University of South Alabama department of internal medicine and their residents partnered with Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy to assist these patients with medication costs.

“The residents were looking for a way to give back to the community during the holiday season,” said Dr. Rachel Seaman, clinical instructor in internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine. “When the department received a letter from Ozanam featuring one of our patients, it seemed like the ideal way to give back.”To make the sponsorship possible the residents and faculty of the USA department of internal medicine rallied their support and donated money for the patients who were selected by the pharmacy on a need basis.

“Ozanam has done so much to help our patients at the Stanton Road Clinic,” said Dr. Seaman. “They provide invaluable resources to the underserved population in our community that allow our patients access to life-saving medications.”

According to Dr. Seaman, the internal medicine department hopes to continue this initiative in the future.

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is a 501 nonprofit organization that serves the needs of the community through prescription assistance. As a service to the Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties in south Alabama, the pharmacy partners with agencies to determine eligibility for persons to have prescriptions filled. They serve more than 1,700 patients and fill over 33,000 prescriptions annually.