Category: News

An amazing crowd of 200 cool cowboys and cowgirls gathered to eat, drink, and dance the night away on November 7^th in support of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy’s recent “Wild Wild West Fundraiser!” On a raining night, with a tornado having touched-down just blocks away from Ezell House, the party was in full swing. The incredible RuffWater Band filled the entire place with an eclectic variety of country, soft rock, jazz and R & B rhythms that pleased an enthusiastic crowd.. all decked out in their Wild West Best attire! The taco and chili bar with all of the trimmings was also a huge hit, as was the fun-filled photo booth. Raffle prize winners were thrilled with awesome gift baskets, the Apple iWatch and overnight stys at our best local hotels!  We are excited for the opportunity to bring this exciting event back next year, with a few new surprises, so stay tuned!

A wealth of gratitude is due to our incredible list of Wild Wild West Fundraiser sponsors and community partners:

• Alta Pointe Health Systems
• Gardberg & Kemmerly Attorneys at Law
• SARPC
• Servis First Bank
• LaZboy Furniture Galleries
• Christine & Steven Cumbie
• Levon Manzie, President, Mobile City Council
• Linda & Al Tenhundfeld
• Brenda & Wiley Christian
• Mary & Herbert Stone
• Patricia & Charles Hyland
• Dr. S. Blaise Chromiak
• Merritte Accounting & Payroll Services, Inc.
• Sherry Coker
• Martha Allgri
• Susan Stiegler
• Ezell House
• Namans Catering
• Bottles Up Mobile
• The Original Oyster House – Spanish Fort
• Shoe Hospital Mobile
• Moonpie General Store

The Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy office and grounds were blessed with an abundance of “TLC” on October 19, 2019. The incredible management and staff of Ingalls Shipbuilding chose Ozanam as the focus of their “Annual Day of Caring” community service program. The program is an opportunity for Ingalls Shipbuilding employees to give back to the Mobile County community. Over the course of a day, Ingalls employees complete various maintenance projects. Here at Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy (OCP), the Ingalls Shipbuilding staff pruned the small trees and shrubs surrounding the exterior of the building. They also vacuumed and shampooed the office carpeting, cleaned the office furniture and counters. Thanks to such a caring group of cheerful volunteers, OCP is looking “ship-shape” these days! Furthermore, OCP received an additional blessing, as Ingalls Shipbuilding President, Brian J. Cuccias, stopped by to present a donation check for $5,000.00, to Executive Director, Shearie Archer, to express the company’s appreciation and support for the services provided by OCP. The program also received news coverage from WKRG News 5. The fellowship we established during the activity didn’t stop that day…weeks later a few of the Annual Day of Caring participants attended Ozanam’s Wild Wild West Fundraiser! OCP welcomes opportunities to develop community partnerships. For information on how your organization may get involved in supporting OCP, please contact Shearie Archer at sarcher@ozzanampharmacy.org or call (251) 366-0713.

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is now serving those in Washington County. For more information on becoming certified, contact Community Action via the following:

Washington County
Community Action
Ph. 251-829-5418
Ph. 251-847-2721

For Immediate Release
May 20, 2019

Kazoola’s Eatery Hosts Father’s Day Crawfish Boil benefiting Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy

Mobile, AL – Kazoola’s Eatery will host “Father’s Day Crawfish Boil Fundraiser benefiting Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy” on June 16, 2019 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Kazoola’s Eatery, located at 558 Dauphin St, Mobile, AL 36602. This year’s fundraiser, “Father’s Day Crawfish Boil” will benefit the mission of Ozanam Pharmacy to provide prescription assistance to those in our area with limited incomes and no insurance who are unable to afford necessary prescription medications.

Tickets for the event are $10 per person and $15 for couples. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ozanampharmacy.org, at the door of the event, or Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy. Ticket prices include all you can eat crawfish. Vendor table opportunities are available for $35.00. Donations are welcome. Email tcarroll@ozanampharmacy.org for information.

In 2018, Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy dispensed over 31,000 prescriptions to over 1690 individuals in their 4-county service area. These prescriptions had a retail value of $2.8 million. Ozanam serves qualified adults between the ages of 19-65 who have no insurance and are unable to afford life-sustaining prescription medications. These local residents are often working 2 or 3 jobs but still may have to make the choice between prescription medications or putting food on the table for their families. Ozanam is a community based free pharmacy and we need your help more than ever this year. Because of rising cost of insulin and other prescription needs.

Please join in the fun on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at Kazoola’s Eatery to help provide life-sustaining medications for those in need. All net proceeds go to Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy. For more information about Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy or the “Father’s Day Crawfish Boil benefiting Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy” event go to www.ozanampharmacy.org, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter or call 432-4111 or 251-721-0458

Ms. Sherry Coker, a Private Banker with ServisFirst Bank, has joined the Board of Directors of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy.  Ms. Coker has been with ServisFirst since it opened in Mobile in 2013.  She previously served as a Manager with Banktrust and is a Director of the Alabama Banking School.  She serves as a corporate volunteer with the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and has served on the Board of Directors of the SOMI Club.   

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is a fully licensed pharmacy providing prescription medications to uninsured and underinsured individuals.  Prescriptions are filled free of charge to individuals who qualify based on household income.  In FY 2016/17, Ozanam dispensed over 28,000 prescriptions with a retail value of over $2 million to 1671 patients in Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia (AL) counties. 

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy, Inc. is funded in part by the Mobile County Commission, Baldwin County Commission, HUD, Catholic Charities, United Way of Southwest Alabama, the City of Mobile, the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, foundations and individuals.  The members of the Board of Directors volunteer their time to guide the operations of Ozanam Pharmacy to ensure community needs are met in the most cost effective way possible.

Mr. Chris Sayre, Rev. Levon Manzie and Mr. Jimmy Lyons have joined the Board of Directors of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy.  The new board members will provide experience and expertise to support Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy’s mission to provide medications at no cost to low income, homeless and indigent patients in Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia counties. 

Mr. Sayre is the owner of The Computer Doctor and an active community volunteers, long time supporter and volunteer of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy and past President for Habit for Humanities.  Rev. Manzie is the City of Mobile District 2 City Councilman and also co-pastor of St. Joseph Baptist Church.  Mr. Lyons is President and CEO of SSI Group, Inc. 

The new board members join the Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy 2018-19 Board of Directors which includes:  Wiley Christian, Lanny Russell, Linda Grayson, Dr. Stephen A. Kahalley, Dr. Allison Chung, Mary Stone, Susan Stiegler, Julie McGee, Al Tenhundfeld, Mike Molyneux, Casey Grant, Christine Cumbie, Pat Hall, Tuerk  Schlesinger, Danny Cottrell, Sr. Marilyn Graf and Martha Allegri.  Each Board Member volunteers their time to assist in guiding the operations of Ozanam Pharmacy to ensure community needs are met in the most cost effective way possible.

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is a fully functioning licensed pharmacy that provides life-sustaining prescription medications to uninsured and underinsured individuals who cannot afford to pay for medication.  Ozanam Pharmacy’s services are free of charge to individuals who qualify based on household income.  In 2017, Ozanam dispensed over 28,000 prescriptions with a retail value of over $2 million to 1670 patients who reside in Mobile, Baldwin and Escambia Counties. 

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy, Inc. is funded, in part, by the Mobile County Commission, Baldwin County Commission, HUD, Catholic Charities, United Way of Southwest Alabama, the City of Mobile, the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, foundations and individuals.  

By Ashley Turk, Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy

Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy is excited to announce that we have launched a National Institutes of Health study at our pharmacy named: The Impact of Pharmacist Led Care Coordination on Diabetes Self-Management Patient Reported Outcomes. Our study was launched May 19, 2017 and is off to a great start. Unfortunately, Alabama is the only state currently in the United States that does not have collaborative practice. Collaborative practice is defined by the American Pharmacist Association as: “a formal relationship between pharmacists and physicians or other providers that allow for expanded services the pharmacist can provide to patients and the healthcare team.’’ In order to gain this privilege, it is important to have studies such as this one to prove that patients truly do have better outcomes when their pharmacist and physician are in direct communication with one another.  

             Every five weeks, we get a new fourth-year pharmacy student from Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy here at Ozanam. Each student will play a key role in different phases of the study. Currently, Ashley Turk is helping us launch the study and is enrolling patients as they come in and out of the pharmacy. Enrollment involves screening patients via a quick survey. In order to qualify for the study, a patient must meet two specific criteria. They must be diagnosed with Pre-diabetes or Diabetes and secondly they must be a patient at the Mobile County Health Department. An incentive for patients to participate is that they will receive a fifteen-dollar Visa gift card at their first visit, and could be eligible for future gift cards depending on what treatment group they are randomly assigned to.        

            The study is well fit for our pharmacy. Ozanam already had a Medication Therapy Management (MTM) program in place, and this was our fourth year pharmacy student’s responsibility prior to initiating the study. We also often see a lot of patients with diabetes, due to the population we see here at Ozanam. In the study, there will be three treatment groups, and patients will be randomly assigned to each group. Patients in group one will receive a blood glucose meter, strips, and lancets in order to monitor their blood glucose levels. Group two patients will receive these supplies, but they will also meet with the pharmacy student or pharmacist every 4 weeks to learn more about managing their diabetes. Each of these sessions will have a different focus. Lastly, patients in group 3 will receive the supplies, the education every 4 weeks, and the student pharmacist and/or pharmacist will be communicating with the patient’s provider at the Mobile Health Department. Group three is where we will be focusing in on collaborative practice. Outcomes will be measured by having our patients take an additional survey prior to the first visit, and then that same survey will be given after their last visit. This survey will ask questions about their current health, how confident they feel about their current health, and their opinion about their providers.

            We are excited to have this study up and running, but this study would not be possible without the help of many individuals. We want to thank those who have helped build the back bone for the study and those who are helping day in and day out make this a success. This is a step towards helping our state can gain collaborative practice, while also allowing our patients to receive the care they deserve which goes hand in hand with better patient outcomes.

Thank you to:

Alethea Hill, PhD, ACNP-BC, ANP-BC

Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, PhD

Heather Finnegan, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow

Matt Allison

Donald Ponquinette, Pharm D.

Shearie Archer

Marlena Kelley, Pharm D.

Yoko Allen, MPH

Our Fourth Year Students

Our Volunteers

 

In 2011, Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy’s board of directors established an award in honor of Jonathan Gardberg and presented it to him at the organization’s holiday luncheon. Each year the board has continued to recognize a member of the community who is instrumental in supporting and promoting the mission of the pharmacy and embodies the caring and generous spirit of Jonathan Gardberg.

Jonathan Prince Gardberg was born in Mobile, Alabama.  He was educated in the public schools of Mobile County and graduated from Murphy High School in 1966. He attended Emory University where he was a Dean’s list student, a varsity wrestler, and served on the Publications Council.  He graduated from Emory University in 1970 with a degree in Economics. Jonathan attended the University of Alabama Law School where he was a member of the Bench and Bar Legal Honor Society and graduated in 1973.

He began practicing law in Mobile, Alabama in 1973 and was a partner in the firm of Simon, Wood and Gardberg where he practiced personal injury, disability, municipal and labor law. In 1986 he founded the law firm Gardberg & Kemmerly, P.C. The firm has been a longstanding supporter of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy.  Mr. Gardberg retired in 2015 and he and his wife Joy moved to Texas.  They continue to support the work of Ozanam Pharmacy.

The Jonathan Gardberg Leadership Award is named after Jonathan Gardberg because of his constant support of the mission of Ozanam Pharmacy in the spirit of the pharmacy’s namesake, Frederic Ozanam. Like Ozanam, the founder of the St. Vincent De Paul Society, Gardberg is an attorney who focused his work on helping the sick and disabled with his social security and veteran’s disability practice. Besides helping with fundraising for the pharmacy, Gardberg helped to establish the agency’s first newsletter and the law firm he founded continues his support of those who are in need of prescription assistance.

Gardberg Leadership Award Winners

2012

Thomas J Rodi-Archbishop of Mobile

Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Mobile

2013

Chris and Marti Burgess-Heritage Compounding Pharmacy

2014

Pleasant Valley Opportunity Club

St. Francis Episcopal Church Women

2015

Mr. Steven Cumbie-CEO of Lanier Construction

2016

The Hargrove Foundation

2017

14 Founding Board Members of Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy