By Emily Randall
Northeast News
Jan. 20, 2010

A mother with a sick child calls her doctor’s office and can’t relay how high her child’s fever is because she doesn’t own a thermometer.

An elderly person with a heart condition can’t afford to supply herself with her daily aspirin regimen.

A person with a minor illness ends up in the emergency room because he can’t afford to see a primary care provider or buy basic medications.

These are all scenarios that Northeast health service organization NEighbor to NEighbor is attempting to quell through a new Over-the-Counter Medicine Program. The three-month pilot program will provide low-income people living in Historic Northeast with vouchers redeemable at Spalitto’s Pharmacy for over-the-counter medicines and medical supplies.

“I see every day people with insurance or Medicaid,” Northeast physician Elaine Joslyn said. “They don’t have the money to purchase things sold over the counter. That can impact their overall health.”

Those eligible for the program will be referred to NEighbor to NEighbor to receive the vouchers through one of five partnering agencies — Don Bosco Family Support Center, Mattie Rhodes Center, Bishop Sullivan Center/St. James Place, Veronica’s Voice and Joslyn’s NEighborhood Family Care. These organizations will verify that a person is below 200 percent of the poverty line, resides in Historic Northeast and has a need for one of the approved medicines. Then NEighbor to NEighbor will provide $10 vouchers. A family can receive multiple vouchers.

People will be able to purchase aspirin, allergy treatments, antacids, antihistamines, cold/flu/sinus remedies, contraceptives, first aid supplies, razors, smoking cessation aids, thermometers, toothpaste, eye care supplies and many more items.

NEighbor to NEighbor intern Carolyn Wilson developed the OTC Medicine Program after repeatedly hearing concerns from area agencies about the need for these types of supplies. She officially kicked off the program this past Wednesday.

“People with heart problems who need aspirin or fish oil — those things are expensive, and there’s not a Walmart over here,” Wilson said. “When you’re on food stamps, you can’t buy meds with [them].”

Although Wilson’s office is based in the Mattie Rhodes Northeast satellite building at 148 N. Topping St. and the five partnering agencies are located all over Northeast, Wilson said the program would easily serve people without transportation. She said she would fax vouchers to the agencies’ offices, and Spalitto’s delivers orders.

Wilson said she preferred to partner with Spalitto’s, located at 3801 Independence Ave., as opposed to a corporate pharmacy because this program is about Northeast people helping one another.

“That’s a neighborhood pharmacy,” she said. “It would be one neighbor helping another. I really like that idea.”

Wilson said her goal is to serve 300 people over the three months of this pilot program. The program is funded with $3,000 from NEighbor to NEighbor, which was raised through the annual Cliffhanger Run on Cliff Drive and through private donations.

“We’re hoping if this program goes as well as I hope it will, we’ll get grant funding to make it long-term,” she said.

She added she hopes that out of those 300 people served, at least 75 of them would learn about additional help they can receive from NEighbor to NEighbor to serve their currently unmet medical needs.

Carla Brewer, director of family support for the Don Bosco Family Support Center, said there has been a need for this kind of program in Northeast for years.

“It’s the things that our clients need daily,” she said. “It’s the things that we that have stability in our life can just purchase. When you have a single mom that’s barely making ends meet and then a baby gets sick and needs cough medicine, throat lozenges, it adds up.

“I think it’s a blessing that [this program] has come around.”