Ahoskie, NC: Earlier this year, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy received a grant to launch a third rural pharmacy hub, this one at Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC) in Ahoskie, in addition to those already at New Bern and Rocky Mount.

As part of this effort, RCCHC is hosting two pharmacy interns from UNC this summer. Kyle Endsley from Chapel Hill, NC & Zachary Vera from Asheville, NC are both rising Pharmacy Year 3 (PY3) students. They will spend six weeks working with RCCHC’s pharmacy team and learning about the great need for pharmacists in rural Northeastern NC.

Figure 2: Kyle (left) and Zach at RCCHC's Ahoskie Comprehensive Care Pharmacy

“I am truly humbled by our designation as the Northeastern Rural Pharmacy Hub. This is a testament to the dedication and commitment of Carolina Across 100, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and RCCHC. We want Zach, Kyle, and future students to experience firsthand the unique challenges and rewards of practicing pharmacy in rural areas. Our hope is that these future pharmacists will gain invaluable insight into the positive impact their expertise can make in areas such as ours. This is yet another opportunity for us to strengthen our efforts to provide great care for every one, every day,” said Angela Mitchell, Chief Pharmacy Officer at RCCHC.

This is part of a larger expansion of RCCHC’s pharmacies, which will be highlighted as the summer continues, expanding services at current pharmacy sites as well as adding new sites in the near future. Currently, RCCHC has pharmacies at Ahoskie Comprehensive Care in Ahoskie, and at Colerain Primary Care in Colerain. The organization has plans to add two new pharmacies, one at our current site in Murfreesboro, and one at the new Dental Integrated Care Facility in Aulander.

Figure 3: RCCHC Staff with guests from the UNC School of Pharmacy in front of RCCHC's mobile health clinic

Just like our primary care services, RCCHC pharmacies work with patients to find the best prices on medications, whether that is by utilizing a sliding fee scale based on income, or our 340B medication program. And, patients who have insurance and use RCCHC pharmacies are benefitting the whole community. RCCHC pharmacy profits, by law, go back into serving the RCCHC community, funding things like our mobile clinic and additional screenings and services not covered by insurance or federal and state funding.