Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center issued the following announcement on Sept. 9
What would you do if you only had $10 and were forced to choose between food or medicine for yourself or family?
This is a situation many people grapple with. Understandably, the choice is almost always food. This is where our Care-A-Van services jump in to help.
“The Bon Secours Care-A-Van is dedicated to serving uninsured patients who often come to us for care having never received heath care services before,” Tyler Agee, our director for community health access, shares. “Most patients are unable to afford the medicine they need to manage their chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, hypothyroidism, depression, seizures, anaphylaxis and osteoarthritis.”
The Care-A-Van’s prescription assistance program recently celebrated providing more than $1 million in free prescriptions for uninsured patients since the summer of 2019. Two years ago, our team members were undeterred from their goals when the program they were using came to an end due to a lack of funding. Instead, they immediately went to work finding their next partner.
The Virginia Health Foundation’s Pharmacy Connection software ended up being the perfect fit! This software offers streamlined access to more than 300 different patient assistance programs.
“I’m so proud of our passionate team,” Tyler says. “They devoted hours and hours to the implementation and management of the new service. They also partnered with medical group practices to make sure uninsured patients throughout the community had access to this program. This is vital to people who need to maintain their health and manage chronic conditions that only get worse when left untreated.”
Bon Secours Care-A-Van started in 1994 with one van and a sole focus on children’s immunizations. Today, it operates five days a week providing primary, urgent and preventative care to adults and children throughout the region. Care-A-Van offers wellness visits, back-to-school immunizations, health insurance enrollment, financial assistance services and health education services. Staffed with our physicians, nurses and social workers, the Care-A-Van provides more than 24,000 patient visits each year.
Donations to the Bon Secours Richmond Health Care Foundation help support many of these vital programs. Additionally, uninsured patients can call 804-545-1920 to request an appointment or learn more about our Care-A-Van program.
Original source can be found here.
