Every year, Dispensary of Hope bestows two Hero of Hope Awards, one to an individual and one to a partner facility. Hero of Hope Award recipients go above and beyond for their patients, leading collaboration with others, inspiring systemic improvements to increase medication access within their communities, and implementing innovative and meaningful ways to engage with and advocate for the most vulnerable among us.
We are honored to announce that we have received the 2023 Partner Facility Hero of Hope Award! Many thanks to Keith Goss and the entire pharmacy team for making this possible.
From Humble Beginnings
Thirty years ago, the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic model was first created right here in Hilton Head by Dr. Jack McConnell because he and other founding leaders saw the need for medical care on the island. When people couldn’t get the medical attention they needed, there was nowhere for them to go. We changed that for our community!
Volunteers in Medicine began modestly, with only five employees and a team of about 125 retired physicians, dentists, and nurses. They made the little they had go a long way, serving some 3,000 patients in that first year alone, and they haven’t looked back since. Today, more than 650 providers volunteer alongside more than 20 staff to serve about 10,000 patients a year.
In 2014, we joined the Dispensary of Hope network with the goal of providing life-saving medications to even more people in their community.
Driven to Do More
A place to see patients is just the beginning. Providers need to be able to ensure everyone in their care has access to the medications they need, too. Our collaboration with Dispensary of Hope makes that possible. For nearly a decade now, our patients have been able to follow doctor’s orders without worrying about whether a prescription copay is going to mean having less food to put on the table. For the last year in particular, following increases in our inventory for insulin and Trulicity, they’ve been better able to meet our care goals for patients with diabetes.
Our pharmacy team is constantly thinking about how best to provide patient care next. Most recently, that’s meant adopting a computerized inventory management system. It keeps track of 99% of prescriptions filled by the clinic, helping ensure both patient compliance and health and safety.
Thank you Dispensary of Hope for this honor!
