How can milestone moments spark meaningful advocacy and community engagement in the 340B space? Recorded live from the conference floor, this episode of 340Banter features Brenda Reitz, Pharmacy Director at Family Health Services, with co-host Logan Yoho and guest host Felicity Homsted.
Brenda Reitz, Rph, worked in community pharmacy as a Pharmacist and Pharmacy Manager for 22 years. Over 10 years ago she was excited to accept a position with the local 340B In-House pharmacy located within Family Health Services of Darke County, an FQHC and Patient Centered Medical Home in rural Greenville Ohio. Brenda became the Pharmacy Director in 2019 and continues to serve as a preceptor for the PGY1 community pharmacy residency program. She completed the 340B ACE program and is passionate about expanding services, advocacy, mentoring, and providing a positive work environment.
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We're live at the Midwest 340B Conference, and we're here with Brenda Reitz
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from Family Health Services of Darke County.
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We wanted to talk a little bit about some recent events you've had at your
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health center and how you're promoting your pharmacy.
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Well, thanks for having me, number one. We've had some really good success.
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I'll speak at the first event we had for our 20th
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anniversary for our pharmacy.
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It kind of was during COVID, coming out of COVID, and it came upon us like a six weeks notice.
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We were like, "Oh, we really should do something with this and have a celebration",
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especially to celebrate not only the pharmacy, but actually people being able
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to be out and about again. Luckily, we just started throwing
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a lot of things out to see what would stick.
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It was just a couple of us working on it.
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At that time, I had a great tech who had some marketing experience, and she was a go-getter.
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So she took on going to all the local establishments and just asking for free stuff.
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It's like they could just say no because we wanted to have a lot of raffles
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to bring people in because I think everybody knows if you're going to have
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an event to bring people in, you have to offer something.
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You have to have giveaways. Even though my current CEO kind of wanted to keep
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everything classy for this most recent one, that's not going to work
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because you won't have anybody show up.
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So we did. We threw this together. My kind of role was working on the advocacy
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side and to try and pull in as many local and state.
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And we asked for federal representation from legislation to come join us.
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And there again, all you have to do is ask. They can always say no.
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So the thing I recommend to any facility, because I did not have any direct
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contacts, I'm not high in any party or anything like that.
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Ask, put a word out to your facility.
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Somebody knows somebody. Especially at the state level.
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Yes, at the state level, local level, state level. We were very fortunate
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that our dental director, had very close ties to one of our state legislatures.
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And so we kind of had an extra in, but I just went onto the websites and sent
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actual emails to the staffers. I found out who the staff was.
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So you get further if you send the message and invitation to the staff.
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I made out a little explanation of 340B, our pharmacy celebration, and what
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we did for the community and asked them to participate and come.
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And I offered them to be able to speak or share their views.
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And we actually had three state representatives come, and Cidre Lips wasn't even our representative.
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Yeah. He was just very active in the 340B program.
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I actually got to go on site for your 20th anniversary, and Felicity missed out.
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It was great because you had all these community members, and you had food
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trucks and DJs. We had a DJ.
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We had face painting for the kids. We had free popcorn, cookies, food trucks,
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and we gave vouchers for our employees so that they could celebrate as well.
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That sounds amazing.
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So that one was a really good success. That came together very quickly.
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I was able to talk, you know, it might be my first venture into speaking
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off the cuff because we had a local news station there.
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It got the word out in the community about our pharmacy since
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The community doesn't even really know it exists.
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Because if they have to go to the big boxes and they go to their doctor and
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then immediately leave, they didn't even really know we were there and what
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services we offered. I also then, that kind of triggered going to our local radio station,
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I've been there twice to talk about all the services at our family health center.
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And the host had no idea what all we did to provide service to the community.
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I think that's great because you're bringing the real-life story of 340B.
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And we don't hear the good things very often.
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Advocacy is more than just talking to legislators.
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It's also talking to community and educating your community.
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So I think that was a great way to do it. How did you like that radio experience?
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It was, well, it was fine. It wasn't near as intimidating as this because I wasn't on camera.
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But no, it was good. It was, you know, just a short spot.
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But it was really nice to highlight it. And I felt good afterwards and that
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we were sharing our story.
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And that's truly the thing, just sharing your story. I have a habit of pulling
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Brenda out of her comfort zone and encouraging her to do new things,
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like speaking at conferences and doing podcasts.
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Yes, I get to blame Logan for anything I'm involved in anymore.
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But no, it's a good thing. It does. Because I do like to share our
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experiences and our successes, as well as our barriers that we've had to overcome.
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At our most recent event, we had an expansion, and we were able to add on
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a whole two-story wing to our facility.
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We brought back home, essentially, our behavioral health unit,
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our WIC, our home health care under one roof.
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We expanded dental by double.
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And then we moved our pharmacy from the middle of the building to the end of
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the new wing and added a drive-thru to help better serve the community.
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Everybody loves a drive-thru. Yeah.
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Except for pharmacists.
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I finally was like, oh, okay
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After COVID. Having to, because we maintained curbside. That changed everything.
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If I'm going to send my people out in the rain and the snow,
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I might as well have a drive-through.
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So just recently, that happened on August 7th.
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And you had legislators there again for that.
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Yes, and the difference with this event versus the pharmacy one is that we were blessed
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to just three months ago, the CEO realized the value of advocacy,
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and I couldn't do it on top of everything else efficiently.
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And so we did hire an advocacy and promotions person who really took the lead,
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and we had an amazing event. I was pleasantly surprised. There again,
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we invited the legislators.
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We had two state senators there. We had the local Darke County commissioners there
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and the ones who could not attend because some already had obligations.
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We also got the letter of commendation.
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There again, we got exposure to what all we do
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for the community through the newspaper.
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And I think Channel 2 News was there.
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There again, we had things for kids. So we had face painting,
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bouncy houses, popcorn, and ice cream, and we had it catered.
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So we had small orders for everybody, and they actually ran out of food.
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We had a really good turnout.
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Then all of our different departments set out a table in our new community room,
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and so they did just like they do at conferences, we did a passport.
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We had our stamps and they had their cards.
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If they hit six of our departments, our tables, and we had free giveaways at those.
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We gave away pillboxes, and other people had all this different swag.
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So if they hit six of them, they got into the main big raffle drawing,
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which was this great big basket of prizes.
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So we did it from the tours to the legislatures
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and any of the other people who wanted to attend.
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So we took them all around and got to kind of talk about 340B
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We talked about the challenges we were having. We also then opened
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it up to the public, not everywhere,
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but into those community rooms and were able to share and then gain stories
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and hear how people were thankful that we were here and able to serve them.
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That's amazing. Now, Brenda, did you, when you were a little girl,
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realize that you were going to be such an amazing pharmacist advocate when you grew up? Not at all.
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I was a dispensing staff pharmacist, and then I moved into management.
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My whole history had been at the retail level.
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So until I came to family health services and covered entities,
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It was like my dream job because of the hours.
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I didn't realize I think like everyone else,
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you don't realize what community health centers do and all the lives
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they touch. Just being able to have that sense of this is what I went to school for.
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I went to school to help people and I can have a direct impact. I had a direct impact before,
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but I had more control over financial abilities to give people access to medications,
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so that really was life-changing. I think that's a lot of our story is coming
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from retail experiences. Then we find out what health centers are like and what
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all we can do for our patients.
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I came from the hospital space. When I switched, I'd been working
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in cardiology forever, and just seeing the same thing over and over and just
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wanting to get upstream and be able to help people before they got into that critical position.
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Being in the community health centers, there's just so much you can do to
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help prevent beforehand.
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It's just amazing to hear all the things you all are doing at Darke,
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Brenda, and just letting the community know, because I think that is such a
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big opportunity. I know that with our health center, it started with removing the stigma.
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Encouraging everybody to know that this was a resource, not just for a certain
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group of people, but for the community. A lot of people think it's the free clinic or anything.
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You provide great care. For anyone,
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It's health centers. In our rural area, we are the only health center.
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I mean, we are the only providers in our whole county.
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We do serve the most affluent and the ones who need it the most.
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They're all treated equally. Which is amazing. Which is really good to see. So important.
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I know you have some great news that you've got a new pharmacy coming on board.
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Yes. We have been
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busy. We had our remodel for our current pharmacy in our main location.
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So that move got done, and we will be opening our second
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location in our
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next town over, still within Darke County in
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Versailles, Ohio. We are opening that and
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it should be officially open. I'm not going to say it
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on air because I don't want to jinx it, but soon. We are doing a soft
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opening and we're working out all the kinks. As soon as that
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opens, I'm opening a third, and that construction is already done in another location.
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Logan's going to have to help me through that process all over again.
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We get through one, and we're just starting on another.
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Hopefully, we just don't stop. We also added specialty accreditation.
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We just got our second accreditation. We have ACHC and now URAC.
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We just got approved last week, and so we're just trying to diversify with all
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the things in 340B. You just never know.
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We're trying to be innovative and get ahead of the game and be prepared to
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make some pivots if necessary.
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More importantly, you're providing that access to those patients in rural
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areas so they don't have to drive to Cincinnati or Columbus, and they can get
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care close to home, which is really important.
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So now we have been able to partner and be able to bring those specialists
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into our facility on-site and through telemedicine.
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It's literally that people went untreated because they did not have
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transportation to get to those larger areas. We're an hour away from any
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other major special aid groups, so it has been life-changing
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and it's really neat to have those stories shared as well.
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It's really clear how your passion and enthusiasm have helped develop the
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340B program in your organization and the impact that it's bringing to your community.
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Thank you. What pain points or points of advice would you give to
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somebody that's trying to get these community events to really educate their community about 340B?
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Okay, that is to definitely ask for help.
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You can't do it alone. You need to delegate and reach out because
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there are some people out there
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Within your facility, maybe not your pharmacy, but somewhere in some department
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love these things, love party planning, love to do that,
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stuff where I would like. "OK, you take care of that."
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So just ask. Ask for those connections to
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locally, even the mayor and the sheriff's department.
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Get them involved because then it kind is spirals. Then other people bring
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ideas and just roll with it.
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Don't be limited by what you think you can do. Just assume that it will happen.
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Just build it and they will come. I think I did that session
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name because if you dream it, it can happen.
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Not doing it alone and asking for support. I also think you said food
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as well. That seemed to be a key.
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Food and free. Free stuff and food will definitely drive in.
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And stuff for kids. You need to have something for those kids to do,
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and then that's going to bring the parent in.
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Oh, I didn't know you could provide WIC services.
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I didn't know that I could get my antibiotics affordably.
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Brenda, I'm going to pause you for one second in case people aren't familiar with WIC. Oh, yes.
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It is Women, Infants, and Children.
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Yes, thank you.
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We provide support for pregnant and nursing mothers to provide food,
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breastfeeding assistance, and just that support for those families.
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I know my health center was the WIC provider in some of our counties as well,
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so some health centers are really integral. Being able to
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provide that integrated whole person care, you're not just taking care of one part of the person.
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It's the whole person. From infancy to nursing home
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is our span of scope of service. That's phenomenal.
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I think that's really great, and I would say I would encourage anyone that
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is opening a pharmacy or a new health center site, to have those community events.
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Have an open ribbon cutting.
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That's a great way to educate your community about 340B, pharmacy, and health centers.
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Thanks for sharing your story with us, Brenda. You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
"I would encourage anyone who is opening a pharmacy or a new health center site to have those community events. It's a great way to educate your community about 340B, pharmacy, and health centers."
Meet Logan Yoho, PharmD, BCACP, 340B ACE, and co-host of the 340Banter Podcast. With nearly a decade of experience in the 340B industry, Logan is dedicated to helping health centers optimize and maintain successful, compliant 340B Programs. As Director of Advocacy and Education at FQHC 340B Compliance, he focuses on implementing entity-owned pharmacies and guiding advocacy efforts for 340B. Logan’s extensive background includes leading the pharmacy and 340B programs at Hopewell Health Centers, serving as Apexus 340B University Faculty, and chairing the Ohio 340B FQHC Consortium. Logan’s leadership and expertise have earned him multiple awards, and he brings a wealth of knowledge to every episode of 340Banter.
Meet Chelsea Violette, PharmD, BCACP, 340B ACE, and your co-host for the 340Banter Podcast. With over a decade of experience in pharmacy and 340B Program management, Chelsea brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. As Chief Operating Officer at FQHC 340B Compliance, she works tirelessly to support health centers across the country, ensuring they have the tools and strategies they need to succeed. Chelsea’s hands-on experience as a 340B Consultant and Pharmacy Manager, combined with her expertise as a subject matter expert for the Apexus 340B Prime Vendor Program, makes her a trusted voice in the world of 340B compliance. Tune in for her practical insights, guidance, and lively discussions on all things 340B.
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We're live at the Midwest 340B Conference, and we're here with Brenda Reitz
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from Family Health Services of Darke County.
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We wanted to talk a little bit about some recent events you've had at your
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health center and how you're promoting your pharmacy.
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Well, thanks for having me, number one. We've had some really good success.
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I'll speak at the first event we had for our 20th
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anniversary for our pharmacy.
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It kind of was during COVID, coming out of COVID, and it came upon us like a six weeks notice.
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We were like, "Oh, we really should do something with this and have a celebration",
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especially to celebrate not only the pharmacy, but actually people being able
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to be out and about again. Luckily, we just started throwing
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a lot of things out to see what would stick.
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It was just a couple of us working on it.
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At that time, I had a great tech who had some marketing experience, and she was a go-getter.
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So she took on going to all the local establishments and just asking for free stuff.
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It's like they could just say no because we wanted to have a lot of raffles
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to bring people in because I think everybody knows if you're going to have
00:01:29.970 --> 00:01:33.090
an event to bring people in, you have to offer something.
00:01:33.410 --> 00:01:37.390
You have to have giveaways. Even though my current CEO kind of wanted to keep
00:01:37.390 --> 00:01:40.890
everything classy for this most recent one, that's not going to work
00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:42.090
because you won't have anybody show up.
00:01:42.490 --> 00:01:49.050
So we did. We threw this together. My kind of role was working on the advocacy
00:01:49.050 --> 00:01:53.090
side and to try and pull in as many local and state.
00:01:53.130 --> 00:01:59.350
And we asked for federal representation from legislation to come join us.
00:01:59.610 --> 00:02:03.190
And there again, all you have to do is ask. They can always say no.
00:02:03.430 --> 00:02:07.790
So the thing I recommend to any facility, because I did not have any direct
00:02:07.790 --> 00:02:11.830
contacts, I'm not high in any party or anything like that.
00:02:12.250 --> 00:02:14.750
Ask, put a word out to your facility.
00:02:15.750 --> 00:02:19.770
Somebody knows somebody. Especially at the state level.
00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:24.250
Yes, at the state level, local level, state level. We were very fortunate
00:02:24.250 --> 00:02:30.690
that our dental director, had very close ties to one of our state legislatures.
00:02:31.304 --> 00:02:35.824
And so we kind of had an extra in, but I just went onto the websites and sent
00:02:35.824 --> 00:02:39.564
actual emails to the staffers. I found out who the staff was.
00:02:39.764 --> 00:02:44.384
So you get further if you send the message and invitation to the staff.
00:02:44.564 --> 00:02:50.344
I made out a little explanation of 340B, our pharmacy celebration, and what
00:02:50.344 --> 00:02:53.844
we did for the community and asked them to participate and come.
00:02:53.924 --> 00:02:57.964
And I offered them to be able to speak or share their views.
00:02:58.284 --> 00:03:04.604
And we actually had three state representatives come, and Cidre Lips wasn't even our representative.
00:03:05.004 --> 00:03:07.904
Yeah. He was just very active in the 340B program.
00:03:08.144 --> 00:03:14.824
I actually got to go on site for your 20th anniversary, and Felicity missed out.
00:03:15.324 --> 00:03:20.424
It was great because you had all these community members, and you had food
00:03:20.424 --> 00:03:23.404
trucks and DJs. We had a DJ.
00:03:23.584 --> 00:03:30.264
We had face painting for the kids. We had free popcorn, cookies, food trucks,
00:03:30.344 --> 00:03:33.444
and we gave vouchers for our employees so that they could celebrate as well.
00:03:33.544 --> 00:03:34.824
That sounds amazing.
00:03:35.084 --> 00:03:39.004
So that one was a really good success. That came together very quickly.
00:03:39.324 --> 00:03:43.504
I was able to talk, you know, it might be my first venture into speaking
00:03:43.504 --> 00:03:47.584
off the cuff because we had a local news station there.
00:03:47.804 --> 00:03:52.484
It got the word out in the community about our pharmacy since
00:03:52.484 --> 00:03:55.184
The community doesn't even really know it exists.
00:03:55.444 --> 00:03:59.684
Because if they have to go to the big boxes and they go to their doctor and
00:03:59.684 --> 00:04:02.244
then immediately leave, they didn't even really know we were there and what
00:04:02.244 --> 00:04:07.164
services we offered. I also then, that kind of triggered going to our local radio station,
00:04:07.709 --> 00:04:12.069
I've been there twice to talk about all the services at our family health center.
00:04:12.389 --> 00:04:17.849
And the host had no idea what all we did to provide service to the community.
00:04:18.589 --> 00:04:24.689
I think that's great because you're bringing the real-life story of 340B.
00:04:24.809 --> 00:04:27.569
And we don't hear the good things very often.
00:04:27.929 --> 00:04:31.609
Advocacy is more than just talking to legislators.
00:04:31.609 --> 00:04:34.889
It's also talking to community and educating your community.
00:04:35.069 --> 00:04:39.049
So I think that was a great way to do it. How did you like that radio experience?
00:04:39.449 --> 00:04:44.689
It was, well, it was fine. It wasn't near as intimidating as this because I wasn't on camera.
00:04:44.889 --> 00:04:47.649
But no, it was good. It was, you know, just a short spot.
00:04:47.889 --> 00:04:52.009
But it was really nice to highlight it. And I felt good afterwards and that
00:04:52.009 --> 00:04:53.629
we were sharing our story.
00:04:53.849 --> 00:04:57.509
And that's truly the thing, just sharing your story. I have a habit of pulling
00:04:57.509 --> 00:05:02.589
Brenda out of her comfort zone and encouraging her to do new things,
00:05:02.609 --> 00:05:05.489
like speaking at conferences and doing podcasts.
00:05:05.489 --> 00:05:09.029
Yes, I get to blame Logan for anything I'm involved in anymore.
00:05:09.209 --> 00:05:12.509
But no, it's a good thing. It does. Because I do like to share our
00:05:12.509 --> 00:05:16.389
experiences and our successes, as well as our barriers that we've had to overcome.
00:05:16.809 --> 00:05:23.209
At our most recent event, we had an expansion, and we were able to add on
00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:26.189
a whole two-story wing to our facility.
00:05:26.729 --> 00:05:30.449
We brought back home, essentially, our behavioral health unit,
00:05:30.629 --> 00:05:34.069
our WIC, our home health care under one roof.
00:05:34.209 --> 00:05:36.269
We expanded dental by double.
00:05:36.509 --> 00:05:40.749
And then we moved our pharmacy from the middle of the building to the end of
00:05:40.749 --> 00:05:44.249
the new wing and added a drive-thru to help better serve the community.
00:05:44.349 --> 00:05:45.749
Everybody loves a drive-thru. Yeah.
00:05:46.489 --> 00:05:48.689
Except for pharmacists.
00:05:48.949 --> 00:05:51.669
I finally was like, oh, okay
00:05:52.129 --> 00:05:56.829
After COVID. Having to, because we maintained curbside. That changed everything.
00:05:57.289 --> 00:05:59.529
If I'm going to send my people out in the rain and the snow,
00:05:59.709 --> 00:06:01.329
I might as well have a drive-through.
00:06:01.609 --> 00:06:06.369
So just recently, that happened on August 7th.
00:06:06.809 --> 00:06:10.109
And you had legislators there again for that.
00:06:10.329 --> 00:06:15.489
Yes, and the difference with this event versus the pharmacy one is that we were blessed
00:06:15.489 --> 00:06:20.669
to just three months ago, the CEO realized the value of advocacy,
00:06:20.669 --> 00:06:24.969
and I couldn't do it on top of everything else efficiently.
00:06:25.029 --> 00:06:29.829
And so we did hire an advocacy and promotions person who really took the lead,
00:06:29.889 --> 00:06:34.389
and we had an amazing event. I was pleasantly surprised. There again,
00:06:34.529 --> 00:06:35.669
we invited the legislators.
00:06:36.409 --> 00:06:42.149
We had two state senators there. We had the local Darke County commissioners there
00:06:42.469 --> 00:06:45.429
and the ones who could not attend because some already had obligations.
00:06:45.749 --> 00:06:50.529
We also got the letter of commendation.
00:06:50.989 --> 00:06:55.269
There again, we got exposure to what all we do
00:06:55.269 --> 00:06:57.689
for the community through the newspaper.
00:06:58.049 --> 00:07:00.189
And I think Channel 2 News was there.
00:07:00.669 --> 00:07:04.289
There again, we had things for kids. So we had face painting,
00:07:04.429 --> 00:07:08.809
bouncy houses, popcorn, and ice cream, and we had it catered.
00:07:09.069 --> 00:07:12.969
So we had small orders for everybody, and they actually ran out of food.
00:07:13.049 --> 00:07:14.209
We had a really good turnout.
00:07:14.469 --> 00:07:19.529
Then all of our different departments set out a table in our new community room,
00:07:20.049 --> 00:07:24.709
and so they did just like they do at conferences, we did a passport.
00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:30.509
We had our stamps and they had their cards.
00:07:30.709 --> 00:07:36.089
If they hit six of our departments, our tables, and we had free giveaways at those.
00:07:36.249 --> 00:07:41.049
We gave away pillboxes, and other people had all this different swag.
00:07:41.549 --> 00:07:45.309
So if they hit six of them, they got into the main big raffle drawing,
00:07:45.509 --> 00:07:47.289
which was this great big basket of prizes.
00:07:47.769 --> 00:07:52.869
So we did it from the tours to the legislatures
00:07:52.869 --> 00:07:55.529
and any of the other people who wanted to attend.
00:07:55.709 --> 00:08:00.689
So we took them all around and got to kind of talk about 340B
00:08:01.246 --> 00:08:06.106
We talked about the challenges we were having. We also then opened
00:08:06.106 --> 00:08:08.386
it up to the public, not everywhere,
00:08:08.586 --> 00:08:12.506
but into those community rooms and were able to share and then gain stories
00:08:12.506 --> 00:08:16.546
and hear how people were thankful that we were here and able to serve them.
00:08:16.866 --> 00:08:19.406
That's amazing. Now, Brenda, did you, when you were a little girl,
00:08:19.566 --> 00:08:24.746
realize that you were going to be such an amazing pharmacist advocate when you grew up? Not at all.
00:08:24.886 --> 00:08:28.906
I was a dispensing staff pharmacist, and then I moved into management.
00:08:28.906 --> 00:08:31.746
My whole history had been at the retail level.
00:08:32.006 --> 00:08:36.166
So until I came to family health services and covered entities,
00:08:36.306 --> 00:08:38.286
It was like my dream job because of the hours.
00:08:38.506 --> 00:08:41.566
I didn't realize I think like everyone else,
00:08:41.606 --> 00:08:45.966
you don't realize what community health centers do and all the lives
00:08:45.966 --> 00:08:50.886
they touch. Just being able to have that sense of this is what I went to school for.
00:08:51.186 --> 00:08:55.206
I went to school to help people and I can have a direct impact. I had a direct impact before,
00:08:55.943 --> 00:09:01.283
but I had more control over financial abilities to give people access to medications,
00:09:01.863 --> 00:09:06.603
so that really was life-changing. I think that's a lot of our story is coming
00:09:06.603 --> 00:09:13.323
from retail experiences. Then we find out what health centers are like and what
00:09:13.323 --> 00:09:14.743
all we can do for our patients.
00:09:14.963 --> 00:09:19.983
I came from the hospital space. When I switched, I'd been working
00:09:19.983 --> 00:09:25.123
in cardiology forever, and just seeing the same thing over and over and just
00:09:25.123 --> 00:09:29.783
wanting to get upstream and be able to help people before they got into that critical position.
00:09:30.023 --> 00:09:34.303
Being in the community health centers, there's just so much you can do to
00:09:34.303 --> 00:09:36.143
help prevent beforehand.
00:09:36.143 --> 00:09:40.103
It's just amazing to hear all the things you all are doing at Darke,
00:09:40.283 --> 00:09:44.583
Brenda, and just letting the community know, because I think that is such a
00:09:44.583 --> 00:09:50.363
big opportunity. I know that with our health center, it started with removing the stigma.
00:09:50.723 --> 00:09:55.343
Encouraging everybody to know that this was a resource, not just for a certain
00:09:55.343 --> 00:09:59.703
group of people, but for the community. A lot of people think it's the free clinic or anything.
00:10:00.003 --> 00:10:03.643
You provide great care. For anyone,
00:10:03.903 --> 00:10:08.423
It's health centers. In our rural area, we are the only health center.
00:10:08.563 --> 00:10:11.143
I mean, we are the only providers in our whole county.
00:10:11.323 --> 00:10:17.703
We do serve the most affluent and the ones who need it the most.
00:10:17.843 --> 00:10:23.463
They're all treated equally. Which is amazing. Which is really good to see. So important.
00:10:23.623 --> 00:10:30.263
I know you have some great news that you've got a new pharmacy coming on board.
00:10:30.663 --> 00:10:32.083
Yes. We have been
00:10:32.083 --> 00:10:35.463
busy. We had our remodel for our current pharmacy in our main location.
00:10:35.783 --> 00:10:40.123
So that move got done, and we will be opening our second
00:10:40.123 --> 00:10:41.623
location in our
00:10:42.215 --> 00:10:45.195
next town over, still within Darke County in
00:10:45.195 --> 00:10:48.115
Versailles, Ohio. We are opening that and
00:10:48.115 --> 00:10:50.775
it should be officially open. I'm not going to say it
00:10:50.775 --> 00:10:55.415
on air because I don't want to jinx it, but soon. We are doing a soft
00:10:55.415 --> 00:10:58.755
opening and we're working out all the kinks. As soon as that
00:10:58.755 --> 00:11:03.075
opens, I'm opening a third, and that construction is already done in another location.
00:11:03.075 --> 00:11:07.235
Logan's going to have to help me through that process all over again.
00:11:07.235 --> 00:11:09.215
We get through one, and we're just starting on another.
00:11:09.455 --> 00:11:12.675
Hopefully, we just don't stop. We also added specialty accreditation.
00:11:12.835 --> 00:11:16.895
We just got our second accreditation. We have ACHC and now URAC.
00:11:17.115 --> 00:11:21.735
We just got approved last week, and so we're just trying to diversify with all
00:11:21.735 --> 00:11:24.175
the things in 340B. You just never know.
00:11:24.395 --> 00:11:28.655
We're trying to be innovative and get ahead of the game and be prepared to
00:11:28.655 --> 00:11:30.375
make some pivots if necessary.
00:11:30.595 --> 00:11:34.355
More importantly, you're providing that access to those patients in rural
00:11:34.355 --> 00:11:39.415
areas so they don't have to drive to Cincinnati or Columbus, and they can get
00:11:39.415 --> 00:11:42.555
care close to home, which is really important.
00:11:42.775 --> 00:11:46.575
So now we have been able to partner and be able to bring those specialists
00:11:46.575 --> 00:11:49.715
into our facility on-site and through telemedicine.
00:11:49.835 --> 00:11:53.435
It's literally that people went untreated because they did not have
00:11:53.435 --> 00:11:57.755
transportation to get to those larger areas. We're an hour away from any
00:11:58.104 --> 00:12:01.884
other major special aid groups, so it has been life-changing
00:12:01.884 --> 00:12:04.224
and it's really neat to have those stories shared as well.
00:12:04.424 --> 00:12:08.744
It's really clear how your passion and enthusiasm have helped develop the
00:12:08.744 --> 00:12:13.244
340B program in your organization and the impact that it's bringing to your community.
00:12:13.484 --> 00:12:19.584
Thank you. What pain points or points of advice would you give to
00:12:19.584 --> 00:12:24.944
somebody that's trying to get these community events to really educate their community about 340B?
00:12:25.064 --> 00:12:27.204
Okay, that is to definitely ask for help.
00:12:27.564 --> 00:12:32.664
You can't do it alone. You need to delegate and reach out because
00:12:32.664 --> 00:12:34.384
there are some people out there
00:12:34.864 --> 00:12:37.664
Within your facility, maybe not your pharmacy, but somewhere in some department
00:12:37.664 --> 00:12:42.224
love these things, love party planning, love to do that,
00:12:42.304 --> 00:12:44.504
stuff where I would like. "OK, you take care of that."
00:12:44.664 --> 00:12:48.864
So just ask. Ask for those connections to
00:12:49.064 --> 00:12:51.444
locally, even the mayor and the sheriff's department.
00:12:52.084 --> 00:12:55.904
Get them involved because then it kind is spirals. Then other people bring
00:12:55.904 --> 00:12:59.764
ideas and just roll with it.
00:13:00.400 --> 00:13:05.520
Don't be limited by what you think you can do. Just assume that it will happen.
00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:09.360
Just build it and they will come. I think I did that session
00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:14.020
name because if you dream it, it can happen.
00:13:14.880 --> 00:13:19.780
Not doing it alone and asking for support. I also think you said food
00:13:19.780 --> 00:13:21.420
as well. That seemed to be a key.
00:13:21.780 --> 00:13:26.240
Food and free. Free stuff and food will definitely drive in.
00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:30.920
And stuff for kids. You need to have something for those kids to do,
00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:32.720
and then that's going to bring the parent in.
00:13:32.800 --> 00:13:36.800
Oh, I didn't know you could provide WIC services.
00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:39.240
I didn't know that I could get my antibiotics affordably.
00:13:39.260 --> 00:13:42.580
Brenda, I'm going to pause you for one second in case people aren't familiar with WIC. Oh, yes.
00:13:43.020 --> 00:13:45.960
It is Women, Infants, and Children.
00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:49.380
Yes, thank you.
00:13:49.380 --> 00:13:54.400
We provide support for pregnant and nursing mothers to provide food,
00:13:54.580 --> 00:13:58.360
breastfeeding assistance, and just that support for those families.
00:13:58.560 --> 00:14:02.720
I know my health center was the WIC provider in some of our counties as well,
00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:07.360
so some health centers are really integral. Being able to
00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:12.560
provide that integrated whole person care, you're not just taking care of one part of the person.
00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:18.380
It's the whole person. From infancy to nursing home
00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:20.820
is our span of scope of service. That's phenomenal.
00:14:21.300 --> 00:14:27.020
I think that's really great, and I would say I would encourage anyone that
00:14:27.020 --> 00:14:32.560
is opening a pharmacy or a new health center site, to have those community events.
00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:34.680
Have an open ribbon cutting.
00:14:34.880 --> 00:14:41.600
That's a great way to educate your community about 340B, pharmacy, and health centers.
00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:45.360
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Brenda. You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
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