Local Pharmany Taking Steps to Close Health Equality Gap in Sanford

Local Pharmacy Taking Steps to Close Health Equality Gap in Sanford

BY DANIELLA HUME

Access to affordable healthcare is essential in any community. Those who can’t afford insurance are often left to pay out-of-pocket for medication or go without. That is where Navy Veteran Doctor Anthony Maldonado and his wife, Wendy, come in. They are the founders of Bueno Pharmacy in Sanford.

“We chose Sanford because of its diverse community, which reminded us of where we grew up,” said Dr. Maldonado. “But most of all, we came here because we understood the lack of accessibility to affordable healthcare.”

Bueno Pharmacy is different from others in the area because its goal is to help close the health equality gap in our community. The pharmacy offers products and services often not provided in traditional drugstores, such as various discount items. And they accept international scripts. They accept international prescriptions from your home country, including Cuba, and Venezuela, amongst others.

They are also a repository pharmacy, allowing them to dispense donated medications for uninsured patients. Not many businesses do this because it’s free, but Wendy said they do it because it’s well within their mission.

Bueno Pharmacy is part of the opiate task force, giving them the ability to provide free Narcan and syringes to anyone who comes in.

“Clean syringes are a must to reduce harm in any community. You can’t deny that to people,” said Dr. Maldonado. “It’s crazy to think the pharmacies around us make it difficult to provide syringes to patients.” Their goal of being part of this task force is to help reduce overdose deaths in Seminole County. Now, why the name Bueno? Wendy told us they came up with it during a road trip with their daughter. “We wanted a name familiar to Spanish and English speakers,” said Wendy. “A word that would explain our services even though they are better than good—they’re excellent!”

Looking ahead to 2023, the husband-and-wife duo plan to add even more to their list of services. They will begin collaborating with a physician to allow them to prescribe and fill medications.

“Currently, we can prescribe medication to the uninsured for UTIs, Strep Throat, and the flu. The idea is to expand those clinical services to include more medical conditions,” said Dr. Maldonado. “This again falls in line with our goal of providing affordable and accessible quality healthcare to everyone who comes into our pharmacy.”

Founders Wendy and Dr. Anthony Maldonado

For more information and discounts click here: https://buenopharmacy.com/recetas-internacionales

BUENO PHARMACY

2921 South Orlando Drive • Sanford, FL Call us at 855-Bueno-Rx (855-283-6679) https://buenopharmacy.com