Sharing our Riches
Senior PharmAssist opened its doors to older adults in Durham on June 23, 1994. Having just passed our 28th Anniversary, we are opening our doors even wider because we can and it's needed. Our neighbors and friends have been wonderfully supportive of our work and this allows us to reach more people in helpful ways.

This is good news because many Medicare beneficiaries struggle to afford their medicines despite having Part D drug benefits. A recent article in the Journal Health Affairs revealed that 39.4% of expensive prescriptions went unfilled by Medicare beneficiaries between 2012 and 2018. That percentage was nearly twice as high among beneficiaries with the most limited incomes.

Due to growing concerns about supporting basic financial needs for our participants, we added several medications to our list of covered medicines, including newer medicines to prevent blood clots (and thus strokes and heart attacks), and to treat nausea and prevent shingles! “Pharmacoequity” is a relatively new term in the literature, however, it has been the focus of our work since we opened our doors. Our supporters continue to help us provide life-saving medications in addition to ones that really improve our neighbors' qualify of life. We love Durham for many reasons and helping us cover critical medication costs is near the top of the list. 

Dirty Dozen: Medicare Misunderstandings and Musings

We’re excited to introduce a new series of informative pieces from our Medicare experts. Each week on Tuesday we will clarify a different common misunderstanding about Medicare. You can find these musings on our social media (linked below) and our website. Be sure to follow us so you don’t miss anything! The first four are already posted.
Volunteers Needed

Volunteer with us! Now that individuals are more “out and about,” we’re looking for outreach volunteers to get the word out about our services. Opportunities include: attending outreach events, stuffing envelopes, and delivering brochures.

E-mail info@seniorpharmassist or call 919-688-4772 if you're able to help!
Helping Other Communities Jumpstart Similar Services
As far as we know, no other organization integrates medication access and management, tailored community referrals, and Medicare counseling like Senior PharmAssist. We believe it is the combination of these services and how we conduct our work that generates positive health outcomes such as decreased use of hospitals and improved self-rated health. The three driving tenets that help us remain focused on our participants and their priorities are: using a racial equity framework so everyone feels welcome, integrating motivational interviewing (for example, using more open-ended questions), and providing continuity of care by remaining in close contact. These efforts support building genuine relationships and trust over time.

Last summer, with the support of partners like the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services and the NC Office of Rural Health, we conducted a statewide survey about similar services across North Carolina and received 366 responses. We then requested applications and began working with colleagues at Duke on a dissemination project: “Senior PharmAssist: Co-Design and Evaluation of a Toolkit to Promote Scalable Implementation.”

Over the next year, working with our Duke partners and with federal grant support, this project aims to help three communities in NC adopt and adapt the Senior PharmAssist model to their needs. This effort will also provide us with valuable feedback about how best to disseminate some of what we have learned over the years. This project will run through May 2023 and we will be working with clinical pharmacists, senior service programs, older adults and many other stakeholders in Buncombe, Guilford, and Pitt counties. We believe this work will not only mean that more older adults have improved health, but that Senior PharmAssist will learn new things to improve our services in Durham, and that revenue from future work will help the Durham efforts flourish. This is a win-win-win that we are excited to support.
Welcome Rachel!
We’re excited to welcome our newest staff member – Rachel Pennington! Rachel obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from UNC Chapel Hill and completed her Master’s degree in Gerontology from UNC Greensboro. For several years prior to joining our team, she worked as director of an adult day health center focused on supporting family caregivers and participants in need of daytime services and support. She is passionate about helping older adults age in place with the resources they need to live as comfortably as possible. In her spare time Rachel enjoys hiking, baking, and taking care of animals at her family’s small farm.
A Fond Farewell and Join our Team!
After four years of helping secure resources to support our work and “spreading the word” about our efforts, Jane Tandler is transitioning to an exciting new position at the Duke School of Nursing. We will miss her upbeat and can-do attitude and wish her the best in her new position - and congratulations on her soon to be Masters in Public Health!

This means we have a job opening for our Development and Communications Director position. You can read more about it and apply here – please send good candidates our way!
Check out our most recent printed newsletter at our website!
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