PARTNERS IN COMMUNITY HEALTH: SOUTH L.A. PHARMACY

Soon after Vassilios Papadopoulos became dean of the USC School of Pharmacy in October 2016, he approached Raffi Svadjian, executive director of community pharmacies, with a bold idea. What about launching a new pharmacy in South Los Angeles, an underserved area for pharmaceutical care?

“That really kick-started things,” Svadjian says.

The school already owned and operated five pharmacies, while most peer institutions run one or two at most. The need was clear and, with the school’s long history of community service and leadership in advancing the profession, the plan for a USC South Los Angeles Pharmacy quickly took root. The team consulted with the USC Office of Real Estate and Asset Management to find the right location. Meanwhile, the dean discussed the plan with university leadership, who expressed support from the beginning.

Under the guidance of David Neu, the school’s Board of Councilors immediately took up the cause. Now board chair (see story, page 19), Neu—former president of AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. and Good Neighbor Pharmacy—will continue leading the steering committee for the new pharmacy.

In fall 2021, the lease was signed for a 3,500-square-foot facility at the intersection of South Broadway and West Manchester avenues. The school will gain occupancy and begin renovations in early 2023, with an anticipated opening date of fall that same year.

Although the onset of COVID-19 temporarily delayed finding a suitable home for the new pharmacy, the pandemic also confirmed its urgency.

A mile may not seem like much, but if you don’t have a car and have problems walking, bus connections are bad, the weather is inclement, the neighborhood is dangerous and you have a child who needed that antibiotic yesterday for a raging infection, a mile can be impossible.”

DIMA QATO, Hygeia Centennial Chair

REPLACING A DESERT WITH AN OASIS

Conveniently located pharmacies foster healthier communities. But 1 in 3 urban neighborhoods is a pharmacy desert, meaning residents can’t fill a prescription within one mile of home—or half a mile if they are low-income and don’t have transportation.

Research shows that the urban poor who lose access to a local pharmacy are less inclined to use online alternatives and more likely to let their medication regimens lapse, leading to poor health outcomes. Some pharmacies don’t accept Medi-Cal, further exacerbating lack of access.

“A mile may not seem like much, but if you don’t have a car and have problems walking, bus connections are bad, the weather is inclement, the neighborhood is dangerous and you have a child who needed that antibiotic yesterday for a raging infection, a mile can be impossible,” says Dima Qato, who coined the term pharmacy desert and serves as Hygeia Centennial Chair at the school.