The Chatham Cares Community Pharmacy is a non-profit community-based organization committed to reducing health disparities by providing access to quality pharmacy services to the low income, uninsured and underinsured residents of Chatham County.
Chatham Cares Community Pharmacy operates fully through donations and grants. Every year, we serve approximately 250 clients with chronic health concerns like high blood pressure, diabetes, and mental health disorders. Our clients have no access to Medicaid or Medicare because their income is too high for Medicaid, not high enough to purchase insurance from the healthcare insurance market, or they do not work enough hours to earn company benefits. Because some of our clients are unable to go to the doctor, they frequent local emergency rooms.
Our pharmacy services serve as an intervention for clients returning to the ER with amplified health problems like heart attack, stroke, preventable diabetic comas, or mental health crises. By providing corresponding medications to our clients, we have helped prevent individuals from spiraling into an emergency status while reserving emergency rooms for true emergencies. Our service of free medications also helps maintain a healthier and safer community because people in need have access to medications that manage their illnesses.
We operate efficiently with two paid staff members (a full-time pharmacy tech, and a receptionist who also serves as a translator, so all our educational material and outreach is provided in English and Spanish), four volunteer pharmacists, and a handful of other volunteers.
Board of Directors
Dr. Pam Sheetz, Executive Director
Dolly R. Sickles, Vice President
Cristal O’Campo-Ruiz, Secretary
Norma Boone
Dr. Andrew Hannapel
Rhonda Phillips
Mickey Pore
Dr. James Schwankl
Mark Sorensen
Timothy Weber
Neriah Boone