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Community Partners

A measure of any successful outreach program is how well it actually reaches people in the community. To reach underserved seniors, especially those with no or limited English language skills, the Partners in D program is developing a network of community partners who work regularly with underserved seniors. We highlight 3 of our partners below.

Jump to:

• Lifelong Medical Care
• TELACU
• PRICE Clinic of San Francisco General Hospital

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Lifelong Medical Care

LifeLong Medical Care is a community clinic organization that provides medical care and supportive services to underserved people in the San Francisco East Bay area. In 2008, LifeLong provided 115,000 primary health care visits to 18,000 patients. African Americans represent the single largest racial/ethnic group served, with Caucasian and Hispanic patients comprising another 40%. LifeLong serves more than 5,000 seniors, many with incomes below the poverty level.

"LifeLong Medical Care has long focused on serving the medical needs of low income seniors and on the underserved. The complexity of Medicare Part D has been a challenge for our patients, and has taxed our internal support systems," comments Marty Lynch, chief executive officer, Lifelong Medical Care. The Partners in D program has been a great help in assisting our older patients to access effective Part D coverage," adds Lynch, who also serves as the current chair of California Primary Care Association, which represents more than 600 not-for-profit community clinics and health centers throughout the state.

LifeLong was founded in 1976 by the Gray Panthers, a senior advocacy group. Originally called the Over 60 Health Center, its purpose was to serve the needs of low income and disabled elders. In 1996, Over 60 merged with Berkeley Primary Access Clinic and changed its name to LifeLong Medical Care.

LifeLong now consists of six primary care clinics including:

• 2 elder oriented clinics
• a dental clinic
• 2 Adult Day Health Centers for seniors with complex care needs, and
• a Supportive Housing Program for homeless adults.

In addition to primary and preventive health care, LifeLong clinics provide a variety of comprehensive integrated services to seniors, including:

• Specialized geriatric care
• Chronic disease management
• Podiatry
• Geriatric optometry
• Dental care
• Hospital, skilled nursing physician care, and end-of-life care.

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TELACU

TELACU is the largest community development corporation and one of the largest Hispanic businesses in the United States. To help senior citizens and physically challenged individuals on fixed incomes find adequate housing, TELACU has developed thousands of apartment homes in residential communities throughout California. These communities are operated by TELACU Residential Management (TRM) and TELACU Property Management (TPM) with the philosophy that TELACU staff are servants in the residents' homes.

To help residents access vital benefits available through Medicare, TRM/TPM's Social Services Department has worked with Partners in D students from four Southern California pharmacy schools in three counties. Over the past year, these student pharmacists have visited TELACU's housing communities to support residents in learning about Medicare Part D's complexities, equipping them to make the necessary changes to their drug plan to ensure the best coverage.

"Medicare Part D has been difficult for the social services staff to navigate, so you can imagine what our residents have faced due to language barriers and lack of access to computers," says Becky Ruvoletto, TRM/TPM's social services administrator. "Partnering with the pharmacy schools on this project is a highly effective way to serve all of our residents in finding the right plan for them."

"I was impressed by the student pharmacists, not only because they are so familiar with Medicare's complex website, but also because of their expertise on numerous medication issues that arise among our residents," adds Anthony Martinez, TRM/TPM lead social services coordinator.

The partnership with Partners in D has enabled hundreds of TELACU's low-income elderly and physically challenged residents to enroll in the best drug plan with the best value for their medications--all without ever having to leave their homes.

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PRICE Clinic of San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center

The Pharmacist Review to Increase Cost Effectiveness (PRICE) clinic of San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH) will soon bring advanced-level student pharmacists and their faculty supervisors together with Medicare Part D patients. The clinic helps these patients more effectively access and manage their medications, while better using their Part D drug plan benefits. The program's goal is to later expand beyond Medicare patients, using enhanced pharmacist counseling services for SFGH patients of any age and payer source.

Staff members at SFGH provide services in more than 20 languages to patients whose ethnic backgrounds are primarily Hispanic (30%), Caucasian (25%), African American (20%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (20%). The Medicare patients in the SFGH outpatient clinics working with PRICE are almost all low income; 95% of them are also covered by Medicaid.

The PRICE clinic of SFGH evolved from successful Partners in D outreach events held during 2008 at the hospital. Alice Chen, medical director of the SFGH Adult Medical Center, participated in these outreach events along with other health professionals. "The complexity of Medicare Part D can be overwhelming for our patients, most of whom have low health literacy, and many of whom have limited English proficiency. It has been wonderful for both our patients and our providers to have access to UCSF pharmacy faculty and students' Part D expertise through a clinic that provides individualized guidance," notes Chen.

Carrie Cangelosi, SFGH medical social worker, tells this story: "Earlier this year, a 70-year-old patient was discontinued from Part D's Low Income Subsidy after her income came just over the limit. The best Part D plan we could find was costing her $48 per month, plus co-pays for each of her eight medications, plus the feared Donut Hole later in the year. The patient was distraught, and thought her only solution was to stop using her inhalers. At the Partners in D outreach event, student pharmacists discussed all of her options with her, and were able to find an affordable solution! Neither of us would have known about these resources without Partners in D."

Schools of Pharmacy at: University of California, San Francisco • Loma Linda University • Touro University, California
University of California, San Diego • University of the Pacific • University of Southern California • Western University of Health Sciences