Prescription Drug Initiative of Natchitoches Parish
The Prescription Drug Initiative of Natchitoches Parish will host three seminars to educate community leaders and others interested about drug discount cards.
Participants will receive information on the Medicare Discount Drug Cards, the Cenla Medication Access Program (CMAP) offer by the Rapides Foundation and other discount drug programs offer by individual pharmaceutical companies.
All of those programs offer significant cost reductions for low-income and, in some cases, middle-income individuals.
Seminars dates are Monday, January 24, 2005, from 4:30-5:30 at Northwestern State University's Student Union, Cane River Room; Wednesday, January 26, from 2-3 pm at the Council on Aging on Keyser Avenue; and Thursday, January 27 from 4:30-5:30 pm at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center on MLK Dr. in Natchitoches.
To RSVP, call the School of Social Sciences at NSU from 8:30-10 am at 357-6195 or email aaaichinger@yahoo.com.
The seminars are made possible by the American Democracy Project, funded by the Bostick Professorship.
Many citizens eligible for benefit cards remain underserved. Lack of participation in medication assistance programs by eligible parish residents ahs been attributed to lack of knowledge about what is available, confusion on which program is best, being unsure about enrolling more than one program, general distrust of government programs and officials, fear that signing up will affect current benefits, level of education of disability that prohibits completing required forms and ill health or lack of transportation.
The purpose of the seminars is to help make informed choices available to Natchitoches Parish residents by educating community leaders and giving them the information needed to organize and informed group of volunteers.
These volunteers should be known and trusted by their neighbors and can offer the personal concern and time necessary to explain the programs.
They also offer the understanding do to so in terms that make sense for each person’s situation and needs.
In this way, it is hoped that much-needed information will reach more people who are falling through the gaps of other service delivery systems.
