The program, now in its eighth year, allows faculty and
students from COPPS to provide pharmaceutical and community health services to
patients that are uninsured or even homeless. In Tallahassee, COPPS works in
conjunction with the Lincoln Neighborhood Medical Center on West Brevard St.
and the Richardson-Lewis Center on Orange Ave. to provide essential
pharmaceutical services that residents in the area may not have. Clinical
services are also provided at additional satellite locations in Havana.
Pharmaceutical services at the Lincoln and Richardson-Lewis
Neighborhood Medical Centers are managed by FAMU graduates and current
students. The centers are federally qualified to function as community health
centers and receive funding to provide healthcare and medications to patients.
Zachary Knowles, a current COPPS student from Jefferson
County, who is completing a rotation at the Neighborhood Community Center,
believes the hands-on experience he has received is exactly what he needs to
become an outstanding pharmacist.
‘It’s been a really nice experience. It seems to form a
picture, a mental image so we can really learn how to treat the patients and
manage their needs,” Knowles said.
Brittany Lyles, Pharm. D., who has served as a pharmacist at
the center for three years, believes the services provided comprise a good partnership
between the University and the city.
“Generally patients don’t get the care that they need or
require because it’s costly. When patients are getting adequate care and
getting access to medicines they can’t [otherwise] afford, it leads to better healthcare,”
Lyles said.
Speaking of the students at the center, Kirksey said, “When
they come in, the second day they are already doing triage. They bring the
patients in, they do their vitals, take their blood pressure, and go through
their medication list to identify any specific problems the patients may want
to have addressed.
Access to primary care for people who are uninsured is a
major challenge, Kirksey acknowledged, adding that the Neighborhood Medical
Center and Bond Community Health Care Center are vital and firmly represent the
commitment FAMU has maintained toward serving the community.
“We provide compassionate empathetic care. We treat them
just like family members. Patients have to have that sense of comfort to know
that FAMU cares. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much
you care,” Kirksey said.
Pinpointing diabetes management as his primary focus at the
center, Kirksey stated that nearly 10 patients are seen at the center each day
for a variety of reasons.
He further emphasized the problem by highlighting and
equating the number of below-the-knee amputations and emergency room
admittances for high blood pressure that disproportionately affect African
Americans in the U.S.
Antonio Jose Carrion, Pharm. D., whose primary focus is
advanced pharmacy in HIV and Ambulatory Care, sees patients at the Bond
Community Center. As an interventionist, Carrion, a 2009 FAMU COPPS graduate,
has direct contact with patients, which allows him to maximize each visit and
determine whether patients have outside obstacles to overcome in addition to
possible health challenges.
“[There may be] barriers such as not having enough money to
keep their lights on, or they may be homeless, or may need a job. We have to
find ways to treat those patients and help them with their care. It’s not
always about the medication,” Carrion said.
According to Carrion, the opportunity for COPPS students to
train at the Bond Center is an exceptional experience for those who are
interested in learning about HIV and the ins and outs of treatment.
“Through the collaboration at Bond Community Health, we are
able to help follow the patients, make sure they are receiving their
medications, taking their medications, and that they’re effectively working,”
Carrion said.
With the traditional role of a pharmacist rapidly changing,
the ability to perform disease management is more critical than ever in the
profession.
“We can actually work with the physicians to help manage the
patients and prevent long-term complications,” Kirksey concludes.