By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 12:00 am
Only 300 of the eligible 14,000 uninsured Benton County residents have signed up so far
Last November, Oregonians approved Ballot Measure 44, which opened the Oregon Prescription Drug Plan to any uninsured Oregonian. Previously, the drug plan was open only to Oregonians 55 years and older with low incomes.
Benton County has about 14,000 uninsured residents, but so far, only 300 have signed up to participate in the plan, which allows them to buy prescriptions at far below regular price, with an average savings of $28 per prescription. That amount can sometimes make a huge difference in the lives of low-income Oregonians.
Only one state employee is allocated to the promotion of the Oregon Prescription Drug Plan, so other organizations are joining forces to get the word out. One of those organizations is the Oregon branch of the AARP, under the direction of Jerry Cohen.
AARP Oregon has formed a partnership with Oregon State University's premed, pharmacy, nursing and dental students to help spread the word in Benton County about the drug plan. Joyce DeMonnin, director of public outreach for AARP Oregon, is an old friend of Chere Pereira, chief premedical and predental adviser at OSU. The two connected at the memorial service of a mutual friend last year, and DeMonnin told Pereira about AARP's hopes to educate the public about the effects of Measure 44's passage.
"I said, 'We can help you do that,'" Pereira said. "I'm always looking for opportunities for students to get out and talk with the general public about health issues."
To Pereira, the idea of educating Oregon health-care consumers about the opportunity to enroll in the program was a perfect match for her students, all of whom need practical experience in the world outside academia in order to advance to medical or dental school.
"It's very much part of their pre-professional experience," Pereira said. Her students already volunteer at places such as Community Outreach Inc. and the Chintimini Senior Center, and the AARP educational program seemed like another opportunity to put theory into practice.
OSU juniors in biology Jacob Wester and Vishal Khemlani spent several hours in the Memorial Union on Tuesday, trying to get students and staff excited about the drug plan. It wasn't easy to get the attention of passersby, but the two premed students were excited at the opportunity.
"It seemed like a pretty revolutionary thing," Wester said of the Oregon Prescription Drug Plan, and he was surprised so few people had heard about it.
Khemlani said he believed the plan could dramatically help Oregon's health-care system.
"It's in its infancy, but it could really revolutionize our health-care system," he said.
DeMonnin said that health care is an important part of AARP's focus.
"Health care is at the top of the list of what our members care about," she said. As such, AARP Oregon was a co-sponsor of Measure 44. When it passed, the focus of AARP Oregon turned to educating the public on the new availability to Oregonians of the drug plan.
"There's not a lot of point of having a law if no one knows about it," DeMonnin said.
The 80 students participating in the project spent two hours in a training session last week to prepare for their outreach experience. For the next week, groups of students will spend two-hour shifts at locations around the county, talking to people about the Oregon Prescription Drug Program, and helping those qualified sign up for the program.
"It's been a lot of work, but the response has been very exciting," Pereira said.
DeMonnin said she was impressed by the number of OSU students who volunteered to participate, and she hopes that the students will also go back to their home communities and spread the word about the plan to those outside Benton County.
Carrie Bauer, one of the student volunteers, is hoping to take what she's learned about the plan back to Molalla, in Clackamas County.
"The OPDP is really exciting and I have already helped friends to enroll," Bauer said in an e-mail. She wants to spend time at assisted living and urgent care facilities in her home town. "I would like to help educate people about the program."
In addition to this week's educational blitz, there will be ongoing outreach throughout the year at key locations, including the Philomath Food Bank. And AARP has secured funding for an intern from OSU who will be piloting a similar project across the state this summer by organizing students to do outreach in their communities.
For more information on the Oregon Prescription Drug Program, call 1-800-913-4146 or go to www.opdp.org. There is no cost to sign up, and all uninsured Oregonians are eligible for up to 60 percent savings on their medications.
To find out more about OSU's participation in the project, contact Pereira at 737-3881.
Information sessions
Oregon Prescription Drug Program information will be made available by Oregon State University premed, predental and prepharmacy students at the following locations:
Wednesday
3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Community Outreach Inc., (Spanish speakers preferred) 865 N.W. Reiman Ave.
5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Community Services Consortium, 545 S.W. Second St., Suite A
Thursday
9 a.m. to noon, Benton Center, 630 N.W. Seventh St.
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Philomath Food Bank, 360 S. Ninth St.
9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Albany Public Health Clinic
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Community Services Consortium, 545 S.W. Second St., Suite A
4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Alsea Library, 19192 Alsea Highway
Friday
1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Rice's Pharmacy, 910 N.W. Kings Blvd.
1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Bi-Mart, 2045 N.E. Ninth St.
8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Community Services Consortium, 545 S.W. Second St., Suite A
9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Corvallis Senior Center, 2601 N.W. Tyler Ave.
Noon to 4 p.m., Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center hospital lobby, 3600 N.W. Samaritan Drive
Saturday
1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Rice's Pharmacy, 910 N.W. Kings Blvd.
1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Bi-Mart, 2045 N.E. Ninth St.
Noon to 2 p.m., Monroe Library, 668 Commercial St.
10 a.m. to noon, Alsea Library, 19192 Alsea Highway
Wednesday, April 18
6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Community Outreach, Inc. (Spanish speakers), 865 N.W. Reiman Ave.
Monday, April 23
1 p.m. to 3 p.m., South Corvallis Food Bank, 1750 S.W. Third St., Suite M.
Wednesday, April 25
1 p.m. to 3 p.m., South Corvallis Food Bank, 1750 S.W. Third St., Suite M.
Saturday, April 28
10 a.m. to noon, South Corvallis Food Bank, 1750 S.W. Third St., Suite M.