When the number of Afghan refugees skyrocketed NOVA ScriptsCentral, a charitable pharmacy, became the lifeline for community partners who needed help obtaining resources to address the health needs of these refugees.
Main points:
- Marine Corps contacts NOVA ScriptsCentral to provide emergency supplies and resources to Afghan refugees at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia
- By leveraging local and national partnerships with organizations such as Abbott and Direct Relief, NOVA ScriptsCentral rapidly mobilizes infant and geriatric formulas, personal hygiene kits, and other vital resources for refugees in need
- NOVA ScriptsCentral collaborates with Direct Relief, an international disaster relief organization with decades of experience, to provide supplies and culturally competent care uniquely tailored to Afghan culture
When Lt. Col. Natalie Trogus (USMC) found her team unable to supply resources to more than 5,000 Afghan refugees housed on the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Va, she turned to her personal network of friends for resources. With limited funds and an urgent need, Trogus knew she would quickly exhaust her resources and that donated goods were her only option. One of her colleagues, Whitney Zatzkin-Bowman, happened to serve on the board of NOVA ScriptsCentral, a charitable pharmacy based in West Falls Church, Va. Zatzkin-Bowman contacted the pharmacy’s executive director, Donney John, PharmD for help. John and his team acted swiftly, arranging the delivering of goods such as food, personal care products and life-sustaining supplies.
Since the U.S military pulled out from Afghanistan in August, a surge of Afghan refugees have arrived at Quantico—many of whom are women and children. Some had gone nearly a month without a fresh change of clothes or adequate nutrition.
The idea of contacting a pharmacy to provide aid to refugees may strike some as odd. However, it aligns with NOVA ScriptsCentral’s mission to serve disadvantaged communities. Following its inception in 2007, the charitable pharmacy quickly emerged as a go-to resource for ethnic minorities and people whose income falls below the national poverty level by 300%.
“NOVA ScriptsCentral is often contacted by local, regional and national community groups asking for help in terms of finding and accessing resources,” said John. “While our services are primarily focused on Northern Virginia, we are committed to helping those who reach out by leveraging our decades of experience in order to identify resources to serve underserved communities.”
The services NOVA ScriptsCentral provides far transcend dispensing medications—most of which the charitable pharmacy obtains via donations from pharmaceutical companies and other relationships. The organization also provides pharmacy-related services such as immunizations and health education to underserved communities and diverse populations. John and his team actively work to provide culturally competent care and address the issue of health literacy. The pharmacy prescription medication labels come in 24 different languages, which helps to promote medication adherence.
The NOVA ScriptsCentral team faced an urgent deadline to source many goods to meet Quantico’s needs as soon as possible. Among the long list of requests were dietary and nutritional supplements, infant formula, soap, culturally appropriate feminine care products, and medical supplies.
With the clock ticking, John and his team worked tirelessly to acquire the supplies.
To get the ball rolling, John leveraged his network, reaching out to Direct Relief, a nonprofit organization that specializes in providing medical assistance in emergencies and disasters. NOVA ScriptsCentral and Direct Relief initially formed their partnership in 2014, and the organization has remained John’s default choice for rapid response in time of need.
“Over the past few years, we have been able to rely on Direct Relief when we need urgent supplies,” he explained. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, Direct Relief was instrumental in our efforts to obtain personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies such as face masks, hand sanitizers and wipes so we could support our community partners.”
Despite the pharmacy’s longstanding service history, the task proved an arduous undertaking that required a little creativity–especially with getting infant formula.
This is when John said he reached out to Direct Relief to ask if they could leverage their supply chain network to make things happen.
The efforts paid off. The very next evening, a dedicated team of Direct Relief staff at their California-based warehouse had prepared 5 pallets containing many of the requested items to ship to Virginia. The pallets contained more than 14,000 goods, including infant and geriatric nutrition supplements, soap, hygiene kits, and disinfectant wipes.
Ultimately, with the help of Direct Relief, the NOVA ScriptsCentral team managed to provide the Afghan refugee’s needs quick relief.
Reflecting on the task, John feels honored to have served the community during such unprecedented circumstances.
The NOVA ScriptsCentral team is grateful that they could help the Afghan refugees in a meaningful way,” he said. “They are hoping to work with community partners to provide ongoing support.
