It didn’t take long for 2009 to begin showing us the negative effects of the current state of the economy. Sure, you might not have been able to get Timmy a Nintendo Wii for his birthday but he did get something. More importantly he has food on the table and a roof over his head. Unfortunately as the year goes on, more and more people are trying desperately to hold onto the roofs over their heads and more immediately, their healthcare. Who are these people? The unemployed.
Even though these people might be seeing some dark times because of their job situation, there are still good people out there trying to alleviate some stress. In this case, your local pharmacy/drug store Walgreens and Take Care Health Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens and part of Walgreens Health and Wellness division – are working hard to bring free healthcare services to those recently unemployed. They plan on making this happen with their new initiative, The Take Care Recovery Plan, which offers free healthcare services at Take Care Clinics throughout the remainder of 2009 to all patients, and their families, that suffered a job loss on or after March 31, 2009 and have no health insurance benefits.
This comes at a time where entire states are going through crises with health care and movies like Sicko (which I got a chance to finally see a few weeks ago) are leaving people with a bad taste in their mouth. Hard working families are seeing their years of effort go down the drain with a single pink slip and an invisible enemy to wrestle. Walgreens and Take Care Health Systems apparently don’t seem to take this sort of thing lightly. They have made a promise to families during these tough economic times: the basic necessity of health care does not take a backseat to the hardships of the economy.
Sandra Ryan, Chief Nurse Practitioner Officer for Take Care Health Systems:
Take Care Clinics were founded on the principle of providing patient-focused care and Take Care Health Providers have always served as advocates for patients that visit the clinics. Take Care Health Providers fully appreciate the important role they can play for patients, helping them to understand where the Take Care Recovery Plan starts and stops in terms of service delivery. To that end, Take Care Health Providers will work hand-in-hand with patients to provide them with information on all health care support options – including child and adult state assistance plans, free or discounted prescription plans and referrals to other affordable care sites within the health care system.
I know it’s not easy out there with these constant detractors to our happiness and well being, but I can honestly say that programs like this can go a long way in improving someone’s quality of life.
If you have any questions about this program, Pulse + Signal has the unique opportunity to discuss them with Ms. Ryan (the person from the quote above). She and the folks behind the Take Care Health Recovery Plan would love to take your questions. Would love to get the insight from my healthcare colleagues on this one. Feel free to leave questions in the comments field here or shoot me an email and I will get them over to her.
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