\nSuzanne Wilkin (third from left), board member for Interfaith Compassion Ministry, accepts a check from Jessica Gibbs (left), Jon Jackson and Ronald Kim. UM photo by Dabney Weems.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Pharmacy
\nStudent Body is teaming up with Interfaith Compassion
\nMinistry in Lafayette County to make a difference in the
\nlives of others.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nICM is a nonprofit organization that provides financial and
\nreferral assistance to needy residents in the county. The
\ntwo groups came together when ICM board member Suzanne
\nWilkin realized that a number of clients needed assistance
\npaying for their medications. She knew of programs, such as
\nPartnership for Prescription Assistance, that help patients
\npay for prescription medications but did not know how to go
\nabout getting help for the clients.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nShe contacted Sandra Bentley, director of UM’s Student
\nHealth Center Pharmacy, to see if students on rotation
\ncould assist ICM. The two groups worked together to develop
\na system to help ICM clients receive their medications at
\nlittle to no cost.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n“Students will meet with a client and go over their
\nmedication history and what medicines they need,” Wilkin
\nsaid. “The P6 students then go back to the pharmacy and
\nresearch what kinds of discounts are available through the
\npharmaceutical companies and what the requirements are to
\napply for assistance. The students then work with the
\nclient and their physician to fill out the necessary forms,
\nthen it all goes in the mail and usually within six to
\neight weeks, the clients get their medication in the mail.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nBesides the financial benefits for the clients, the
\npharmacy students themselves are receiving invaluable
\nreal-life training, according to Bentley.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n“I wanted the students to be exposed to the programs
\navailable to low-income and uninsured patients,” Bentley
\nsaid. “The feedback I get from the students has overwhelmed
\nme. It seems the students are more understanding of the
\npatients. They seem to empathize more.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nFor some students, the experience has been eye-opening.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n“I think every pharmacy student should work with these
\npatients and see just how some people have to struggle to
\nchoose whether to use their small incomes to buy food or
\nmedication,” said Kimberly Steinman, a P6 student from
\nSenatobia. “It made me appreciate my circumstances even
\nmore. Also, it feels good at the end of the day to know
\nthat you have helped someone.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nBesides helping as pharmacists-in-training, the pharmacy
\nstudent body also sponsored the ICM as their philanthropy
\nproject for the year.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n“We were looking for a way to create a lasting legacy at
\nOle Miss,” said Jon Jackson, president of the Pharmacy
\nStudent Body. “Around that same time, Dr. (Marvin) Wilson
\nheard about an opportunity to help the ICM. The P6 students
\nwere already working with the ICM, so it seemed like a good
\nfit for the student body to support the ICM financially as
\nwell.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nThe pharmacy student body has already donated $3,000 to the
\nICM this year. The funds are to help provide medications
\nfor those who do not qualify for PPA and to help pay for
\nphysician visits, Wilkin said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nThe help from the students provides an all-around better
\nlife for the clients. Wilkin recalls a client who suffered
\nfrom seizures, lupus, anxiety, depression and diabetes but
\nwas able to take medications only when a physician provided
\nsamples. The pharmacy students helped the client obtain the
\nmedications regularly at little to no cost. Through the
\npharmacy student body’s financial support, the client is
\nable to pay for visits to a neurologist and is doing much
\nbetter, Wilkin said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nThe pharmacy students are also focusing fundraising efforts
\nto help the ICM. Besides collecting donations, they are
\nselling red polo shirts embroidered with the pharmacy
\nschool’s logo. The shirts are $55.95, with all profits
\nbenefiting the ICM.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n“It is hard to put into words what the students have done
\nfor some of our clients,” Wilkin said. “Literally, some
\npeople would not have their medicine at all if it had not
\nbeen for the students. This program has really helped to
\nimprove people’s lives and in some cases, I believe, saved
\nthem.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nTo purchase a shirt, contact Jackson at
\njjackso@olemiss.edu. For more information about the ICM,
\ncall 662-281-1002.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 Suzanne Wilkin (third from left), board member for Interfaith Compassion Ministry, accepts a check from Jessica Gibbs (left), Jon Jackson and Ronald Kim. UM photo by Dabney Weems. OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Pharmacy Student Body is teaming up with Interfaith Compassion Ministry in Lafayette County to make a difference in theRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nPharmacy Students Work with Interfaith Compassion Ministry to Assist Local Citizens - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/pharmacy-students-work-with-interfaith-compassion-ministry-to-assist-local-citizens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pharmacy Students Work with Interfaith Compassion Ministry to Assist Local Citizens - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 Suzanne Wilkin (third from left), board member for Interfaith Compassion Ministry, accepts a check from Jessica Gibbs (left), Jon Jackson and Ronald Kim. UM photo by Dabney Weems. OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Pharmacy Student Body is teaming up with Interfaith Compassion Ministry in Lafayette County to make a difference in theRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/pharmacy-students-work-with-interfaith-compassion-ministry-to-assist-local-citizens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-09-23T14:24:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/check.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/pharmacy-students-work-with-interfaith-compassion-ministry-to-assist-local-citizens\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/check.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/pharmacy-students-work-with-interfaith-compassion-ministry-to-assist-local-citizens\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/pharmacy-students-work-with-interfaith-compassion-ministry-to-assist-local-citizens\/\",\"name\":\"Pharmacy Students Work with Interfaith Compassion Ministry to Assist Local Citizens - Ole Miss News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/pharmacy-students-work-with-interfaith-compassion-ministry-to-assist-local-citizens\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-23T14:24:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4515cb1b4f8a759552c0827c3df56430\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/pharmacy-students-work-with-interfaith-compassion-ministry-to-assist-local-citizens\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4515cb1b4f8a759552c0827c3df56430\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3e8e7562bf6d779d771ad8ce4cecd7ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42877,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions\/42877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"check.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/check.jpg\" "\\"check.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\n