Access Community Health Network Announces Expanded Relationship With Walgreens
ACCESS lauds Walgreens' critical role in providing health care resources for neighborhoods in need
CHICAGO, July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Access Community Health Network CEO Donna Thompson today announced new, groundbreaking initiatives with Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG) that will help ACCESS fulfill its mission to provide high-quality, accessible health care to residents in underserved communities.
Thompson said Walgreens will work with ACCESS to:
- Create a pharmacy and therapeutics committee that will provide prescribing guidelines for all ACCESS health centers to help every patient receive cost-effective, high quality drug therapies.
- Integrate a clinical pharmacy resident with ACCESS' physicians and nurses at one of ACCESS' health centers on Chicago's South Side.
- Open a pharmacy inside the ACCESS Genesis Center for Health and Empowerment health center in Des Plaines, Ill., which predominantly cares for an underserved Hispanic population.
"We are working with Walgreens to co-develop an integrated program that will ease the transition of our patients from inpatient facilities to enjoying healthy lives in the community and preventing hospital readmissions," Thompson said. "Through all of these Walgreens initiatives, ACCESS will be better able to meet the needs of patients who often have nowhere else to turn for treatment."
ACCESS' relationship with Walgreens pharmacies and its health care providers are key parts of ACCESS' mission to provide high quality, accessible preventive and primary health care for underserved populations, Thompson said. Walgreens currently performs pharmacy services for ACCESS' more than 50 health centers that participate in the federal 340B program, which provides deep discounts on prescription medications to some of the nation's most vulnerable patient populations.
"We applaud Walgreens for its willingness to build a relationship with us, and for being in communities that others often pass over," Thompson said. "Walgreens is a critical component of the community health care system and needs to be part of an effective health care provider network.
"Walgreens' community pharmacy network serves more neighborhoods than any other pharmacy provider. We would not be able to meet the complete health care needs of our patients without the presence and services of Walgreens. We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship."
About ACCESS
Access Community Health Network (ACCESS) offers outstanding primary and preventive care in more than 50 community health center locations throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Accredited by the Joint Commission, ACCESS serves as the medical home for more than 200,000 patients each year.
SOURCE Access Community Health Network
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