A new Senior Prescription Assistance Program is ready for launch on Monday, April 5. It’s sponsored by HealthLink, a new partnership of Selma-Dallas County United Way and Vaughan Community Health Services.

The program will provide the link between qualified patients 60 and over in the community who need prescription drugs and cannot afford them and large drug companies that offer prescription drugs to people who meet their criteria free or at a reduced cost.

Similar efforts are already under way, but the need, according to United Way and Vaughan Community Health Services officials is enormous in Selma and Dallas County.

State assistance is available through a very limited number of programs and the office is located in Camden.

Local pharmacists already

provide some help for low-income patients.

Some doctors in the community are already providing such services but because of the complexity of application procedures doctors are soon discouraged and cannot afford the personnel costs of conducting such a program.

The key to it is computer software that United Way has purchased which is linked to all major drug companies and the particulars of their individual programs.

At the consumer end, there will be an interview at the United Way office, the filling out of forms to determine whether or not an individual meets announced guidelines and then a search of the drug company databases to determine if the drugs needed are available.

All of this will take probably at least a week – the intake interview plus research plus notification of the patient or patient’s doctor of the results of the search.

Guidelines for the Senior Prescription Assistance Program include restricting the program to low-income seniors who are 60 and over; requiring referral of patients to the program by their personal physicians; requiring that patients have a new prescription in hand when they come for their intake interview.

Kathi Needham, chairwoman of the Chamber of Commerce board who is United Way impact development coordinator, said that the need for such drugs is overwhelming and the new prescription program is a perfect example of networking among agencies that can result in new services for people who need them.

Jeff Cothran, director of United Way, said, &uot;The program will eventually bring $500,000 to $1 million worth of drugs into this community which individual consumers would not otherwise have. And what’s more, it will not take anything away from local pharmacists.&uot; In fact, he explained, &uot;Home town, locally owned, pharmacies that have been contacted are enthusiastic about the program.&uot; He described how many low-income patients have to choose among various prescribed medicines because they cannot afford to pay for all that are prescribed and needed.

Kim Cogle, executive director of Vaughan Community Health Services which is providing the seed money for the prescription program, who also serves as president of the United Way Board, added that &uot;Physicians are enthusiastic because they simply cannot administer the required paperwork for patients who need these prescriptions. They’re simply overwhelmed,&uot; she said.

Needham concluded, &uot;Everybody wins – patients, pharmacists, doctors – but most of all the patients. That’s what this program is all about.&uot;

Carol Henry, veteran R.N., will serve as the programs intake coordinator. She is retired from the Department of Human Resources and will be available at the United Way office on designated days during specified hours to do the intake interviews of consumers referred by their doctors. Others will help in that process.

Cothran said that the program will begin on a very limited basis as procedures are worked out. Then he expects it to expand rapidly.

Persons interested should contact their personal physicians right away. Physicians will have information pertaining to the program and necessary forms to complete before coming to an intake interview at the United Way office.

There is no need to contact the United Way office for information, since all referrals must come from physicians who have the information on patients necessary to make the referral to the program.

The key criteria are – age, 60 and over; and income eligibility.