TUKWILA, Wash., Sept. 6, 2017 As Hurricane Irma nears Florida, Genoa, a Qol Healthcare Company, the largest provider of behavioral health and telepsychiatry services in the U.S., is getting ready to respond. Simultaneously, it is continuing its efforts to help people living with mental health and addiction issues who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Of Genoa’s 378 pharmacies across the country, 17 are located within Florida-based community mental health centers. “Genoa is making plans now to be ready. Back-up pharmacies located in safe areas have been identified. They will answer calls and fill and deliver prescriptions for affected sites and consumers,” said David Vucurevich, Genoa’s chief operating officer. “We are also currently working to fill and deliver as many medications as possible in advance so consumers have what they need.” As with Hurricane Harvey, additional plans that Genoa is ready to mobilize include: Designating pharmacy triage locations to field consumer calls and prescriptions for any impacted site;Activating Genoa’s call center to proactively reach out to consumers and coordinate needed refills;Assessing the need to provide Genoa Telepsychiatry support to individuals who are displaced from their homes; andStaying in close contact with community mental health center partners to support their efforts working with consumers who need help or must temporarily relocate. “For consumers dealing with a mental illness; housing, transportation and support can be challenging under the best of circumstances,” said Vucurevich. “In what is a very difficult time, our goal is to provide a sense of stability and needed medicines and to maintain an ongoing trusting relationship.” Hurricane Harvey All four of the Genoa pharmacy sites in Texas and Louisiana that were impacted by Hurricane Harvey are back up and running. However, the community mental health center location of Genoa’s Beaumont, Texas site, which was heavily impacted by flooding and lack of running water, remains closed. In turn, and with support from personnel from other pharmacy locations around the state, Clancie Grant, the Genoa site manager for the Beaumont pharmacy is doing whatever is needed to make sure consumers have access to the medication they need. “Even as her own home faced potential flooding, Clancie has been driving two additional hours each direction to reach the pharmacy and ensure our consumers and group homes have what they need,” said Vucurevich. “The stories we have been hearing are amazing. It’s quite an effort our team is going through for those we serve.” As more streets and highways clear, Genoa will continue to fan out personnel resources, medications and supplies to affected consumers. About Genoa, a Qol Healthcare Company Genoa has been serving the behavioral health community for more than 15 years. The company provides pharmacy and telepsychiatry services to more than 550,000 individuals annually in 45 states and the District of Columbia, filling more than 12 million prescriptions per year. Genoa is the sixth largest drug chain in the United States with nearly 378 pharmacies located onsite within community mental health centers. Genoa recently launched Medication Management Solutions, which provides comprehensive, patient-centered medication management services and technology to improve medication therapy by identifying and resolving patients’ medication therapy problems. www.genoa-qol.com
