Dawn Jacke spent 25 years of her life caring for others as a nurse. But a back injury turned her from nurse into patient. No longer able to stand on her feet for more than a few minutes, the 56-year-old retired from nursing. Soon after, other medical challenges surfaced. She needed a pacemaker to regulate her heart. She had a seizure last year, and has since been treated for high blood pressure. Dawn also has mental health diagnoses. All told, she requires 13 prescriptions to keep her health in check.
“The co-pays are very expensive. And now that I’m not able to work full-time, it’s tough,” Dawn shared. “I used to have a really good salary, then all of the sudden you’re just in a different situation. So, you know, between rent, utilities, food, car insurance—those things add up and you don’t have a lot left over.”
She now receives disability and Medicaid benefits, but there is a high required spend down amount before Dawn’s medications are covered. So, she’s turned to United Way Impact 100 partner Pharmacy of Grace to ensure she can access the medicines she needs.
“I feel very confident with the pharmacy,” Dawn said. “And you pay very little, or sometimes nothing, for the meds.”
Before she found Pharmacy of Grace, Dawn admits she would sometimes skip doses or break pills in half to make them last longer, which could’ve put her health at risk.
“I had a lot of depression as I went through this whole medical thing,” said Dawn. “I’m almost coming out of it now, and feeling that I have a future. So it gives you hope.”
“We see our vision and purpose being here is to make sure people can go to one pharmacy for all their medications, receive the best price, but more importantly, get clinical information on new medications or medications they’ve been on previously,” said Michael Fink, Pharmacy of Grace VP of Clinical Operations. “And just from that level of care and education that’s very different than what you might get at a big box, retail store.”
Located in Kansas City, Kan., Pharmacy of Grace works with many patients who have roots in other countries and speak languages other than English.
“We like to educate them, fill prescriptions in their language, and be as helpful as we can,” Finke shared. “We can also bring interpreters in online to talk through it and help with any communication gaps, too. That way we ensure they know how to take the medications, and the importance of it.”
When patients don’t have access to the medicines they need or skip doses, they often land in emergency rooms, where care is slower and much more expensive. Daily quality of life suffers, too, for those with chronic conditions.
“One of the first patients we met, she was coming from the ER and her blood glucose was well over 600. We found out she was only taking two of her six medications that were prescribed,” Fink said. “Today, she’s on all six medications. The retail value is probably over $3,000. But to her, she’s only paying about $26 a month, and that’s without insurance.”
It’s helped her hold a full-time job, too, now that she’s not routinely missing work when health scares force her to visit the emergency room.
“We’re just a better community in general, when everyone can function with the support they need,” said Fink.
Pharmacy of Grace’s services are open to all the Kansas City region for patients who are struggling to afford medication. It has helped individuals as far as Topeka to obtain affordable access to prescription medications.
To learn more about United Way partners making an impact in our focus are of creating healthier communities, visit here