Moore Free and Charitable Care Clinic Recognizes FirstHealth Employee
| Date Posted: 3/28/2016
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Melinda Wallace |
SOUTHERN PINES – Melinda Wallace, the resource coordinator for FirstHealth Cares, the FirstHealth of the Carolinas medication assistance program, has received the first-ever “Above and Beyond” award from the Moore Free and Charitable Clinic.
Presented on Feb. 14 during the organization’s fourth annual Hands & Hearts Valentine’s brunch at the Carolina Hotel, the award recognizes an individual who exemplifies “the clinic’s values and mission by being fully committed to meeting patients’ needs with proactive communications, prompt follow-through, attentiveness, respect and dignity.”
“Melinda's tireless leadership and support of the Moore Free and Charitable Clinic's medication assistance program provides our uninsured patients with a lifeline that they otherwise could not afford,” says Tony Price, the organization’s chief executive officer. “We salute FirstHealth and Melinda for their longstanding partnership and support of the clinic's mission to provide primary care to the uninsured.”
Wallace assists uninsured patients through the processes of acquiring free medications that are provided by pharmaceutical companies. She researches available medications and then helps qualified applicants through the application process for the appropriate pharmaceutical program.
A FirstHealth employee since 2001, Wallace joined FirstHealth Cares, a program of FirstHealth Community Health Services, in 2003. Since that time, she has helped 2,358 patients acquire 22,976 medications valued at $12,999,964. The program moved to an office at the Moore Free and Charitable Care Clinic in 2011 and assumed responsibility for medication assistance for clinic patients in October 2013. Since then, Wallace has helped 1,070 patients acquire 16,507 medications valued at $10,451,339.
A graduate of the associate degree program at Sandhills Community College, Wallace earned a B.A. degree from St. Andrew’s College. She is also a certified pharmacy technician.
FirstHealth Cares is a medication assistance program for Moore, Montgomery and Richmond counties that helps uninsured/underinsured patients obtain medications from pharmaceutical companies for chronic diseases including asthma, chronic bronchitis, congestive heart failure, COPD, diabetes, emphysema, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
