Callen-Lorde Community Health Center opens pharmacy

NEW YORK — A nonprofit clinic that caters to New York’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities and people living with HIV and AIDS has opened a new pharmacy.

Callen-Lorde Community Health Center announced the opening of the pharmacy at its main clinic in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, having received start-up funding support from the New York State Health Foundation and the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. The pharmacy will offer 90-day supplies of maintenance medications, online and telephone ordering of refills and discounts to uninsured patients with incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level, who will be eligible for further discounts. Of the 14,000 patients the center saw last year, around half did not have health insurance, said executive director Wendy Stark.

“Opening our own pharmacy is the next step in our continuing mission to provide quality, affordable health care to the community,” Stark said. “The integration of on-site pharmacy access clinically enhances our comprehensive primary care services [and] offers a more convenient and less expensive option for our patients when filling their prescriptions.”

The center will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 28, attended by several New York state and city politicians.