SARASOTA - The uninsured now have a place in North Sarasota County to get prescriptions filled for free. The Community Pharmacy has opened a new mobile location in Newtown.
Charles Mnick says he wasn't expecting to have heart problems at 60 years old. "At Thanksgiving I ended up in the hospital, because my heart has an irregular heartbeat, so this will help," says Mnick.
Mnick is homeless and says he can't afford the prescription medication he needs. He's thankful the community pharmacy now has a location in north county that he's able to get to. "These people are God sent by giving me what I need," says Mnick.
Executive director Kimberly Chmielewski says the new mobile outreach clinic will help the uninsured who aren't able to travel to the Nokomis location. "There's no cost for any of our services all of our services are free the medications are sent over here for free," says Chmielewski.
The prescription will be filled at the pharmacy in Nokomis and transferred to the Sarasota location for the next week.
Since the pharmacy opened in 2008, they've given out $1.7 million of prescription medication, supplies and over the counter medication to Sarasota County residents.
Chmielewski says a majority of the people requesting help are senior citizens. They're also seeing many who've lost insurance health insurance because of the economy. "We're seeing more people that can no longer make those COBRA payments. They no longer can even afford to see their doctors," says Chmielewski.
The mobile location is open every Thursday at the North County Public Library from 10:30 am to 1 pm. You must be a Sarasota County resident to access the service. You also have to bring identification, proof of income and prescription bottles. "The most important piece is that you have a doctor that can write you the prescriptions that are needed," says Chmielewski.
She says the goal is to keep people healthy and keep them on the medication they need. "We'll also hook people up with the manufacturer assistance programs and help them apply so they'll get their medication for an entire year, 99% of the time it's free," says Chmielewski.
She says the pharmacy is run by 67 volunteers. It receives only grants and personal donations for operating costs.
