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Two Significant Donations Help Old Town Clinic Expand Pharmacy Capacity

February 10, 2014

Central City Concern’s Old Town Clinic recently received a donation of an IntelliCab™ System, a medication storage and sophisticated tracking system that utilizes radio frequency identification system technology, and a $300,000 grant from the Mitzvah Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation. Both donations occurred as the Clinic was striving to improve its capacity and operations, particularly in the Pharmacy area.  

In 2010, Central City Concern opened a small in-house pharmacy to provide prescriptions to its uninsured population, using mostly pharmaceuticals provided by charity and scholarship medication programs. The pharmacy was designed to fill around 200 prescriptions per day. During 2011 and 2012, Old Town Clinic added nearly 1,000 patients to its existing base of patients and today, it meets the needs of nearly 4,000 very low-income individuals. Today, its pharmacy fills nearly 500 prescriptions daily; with Medicaid expansion, it anticipates quickly growing to filling 1,000 prescriptions daily.

The Mitzvah Fund grant helped create five dedicated consultation spaces, a private room for more in-depth patient interaction, storage capacity and a waiting room for the pharmacy.

The IntelliCab System, produced and distributed by GSL Solutions, Inc., has greatly improved efficiency and processes in the pharmacy. GSL Solutions CEO Shelton Louie and Old Town Clinic Pharmacist Sandy Anderson both graduated from Oregon State University and the two had worked together in retail pharmacy earlier in their careers.

 

Old Town Clinic’s first floor space was closed for renovations from October through early January 2014. The pharmacy and an improved Urgent Care Clinic reopened on January 13, 2014.

“The combined goodwill of GSL Solutions, Inc. and the Mitzvah Fund is making an enormous difference to our operations and our ability to serve people in need,” said Rachel Solotaroff, Medical Director of Central City Concern.

“So many of the people who come to us are so fragile, so alienated from society,” added Sandy Anderson, Old Town Clinic’s head pharmacist. “With us, they feel safe.

The new space and the new equipment allow us to provide our patients with even more personalized care, which keeps them engaged in their health and recovery.”

Central City Concern’s mission is providing comprehensive solutions to ending homelessness and achieving self-sufficiency. It serves approximately 13,000 people yearly with healthcare, housing, peer support and employment in the Portland metro area.

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