Answering the need
Regarding your January 5 article, “Will Work for Meds,” the good news that was missing from the story is that since November 2007, United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area has had our Medication Assistance Caseworker, Helen Frye, at Region Ten nearly five days a week. Our RxRelief Prescription Assistance Program helps low-income, uninsured adults with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and mental health issues, qualify for free medications from approximately 200 pharmaceutical companies. Qualified applicants can receive a 90-day supply of each medication up to four times a year.
With support from the Virginia Health Care Foundation’s RxRelief Program, United Way partners with Martha Jefferson Hospital, the Charlottesville Free Clinic and Region Ten. Helen spends time each day at their sites. Mental health medications are especially expensive: the average cost of the prescription we help Region Ten clients receive for free is $1,237.
Helen has been very busy at Region Ten in the past three months: October–December 2009 she served 83 total clients with 188 prescriptions, valued at $232,478 (retail). That number includes 38 NEW clients, with the majority of those transferring from the Community Resource Pharmacy. So, many of Region Ten’s clients continue to receive free prescriptions, thanks to the United Way’s RxRelief program which is a wonderful example of how United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area fulfills its mission of serving community members with the greatest need or at the greatest risk.
Kim Connolly
Director of Marketing & Communications
United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area
CORRECTION
Due to a reporting error, last week Restaurantarama reported that Rita’s Ice on the Corner failed to reopen after the holidays in 2008. In fact, it failed to reopen for the winter season as the owners originally had planned. Rita’s later had a seasonal spring reopening at the end of March 2009, but closed for good by the beginning of summer.