Coronavirus update

What a wild couple weeks. We hope that you, your practices, and your families are persevering despite these unprecedented circumstances.

While the OPA staff have been busy adapting to different work logistics and rescheduling our upcoming programs and committees, we continue to field your phone calls and emails, as well as address rapid-fire regulatory changes, workplace safety issues, PBM policy shifts, and a flurry of media inquiries.

As we continue to field feedback from our member pharmacists on the ground, we are assessing all suggestions, opportunities, and concerns, and we continue to push them to officials at the governor's office, board of pharmacy, department of health, health plans, and other state leaders. Some of these recommendations have already resulted in changes, and others continue to need advocacy.

Much like you are seeing at your practices, the adjustments to the COVID-19 pandemic are not perfect, but we are working hard to push state officials to get as close to the mark as possible.

As we mentioned in the last Newsline, we have launched a special section of our website dedicated to COVID-19 news and resources. We continue to update it with any and all relevant information. In the interest of serving the profession and the public, we have made this open to all members and non-members alike. 

As mentioned above, we have been pushing state officials for emergency guidance and policy changes to help better equip pharmacists and pharmacy staff with they tools they need to protect themselves and the public. For a complete rundown of these changes, click here.

OPA's quick work to address a multitude of regulatory issues with the Board and governor's office was highlighted this past week by Bloomberg News as, "Leading the Charge" nationally.

OPA is currently evaluating and pursuing a number of other suggestions and requests, including:

• In light of pharmacy safety concerns, securing reasonable amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) for pharmacies without the ability to maintain safe distances
• Temporarily eliminate insurer/PBM requirements for patient signatures, and to protect pharmacies from audit takebacks due to a lack of signatures
  • The Columbus Dispatch highlighted this issue, CMS has pushed to suspend signature requirements, and even the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association showcased how some PBMs were waiving signatures. We have been asking for the state to temporarily suspend these insurer/PBM requirements for weeks, but have yet to receive guidance on the matter.
• Eliminating insurer/PBM limits and restrictions on mailing and delivering prescriptions, which the American Pharmacists Association has also called for eliminating
• Empowering pharmacists to test and treat for flu, strep, and other tests, including COVID-19 as appropriate and as it becomes available, and if adequate PPE is made available for testing
  • In March, the Buckeye Institute issued a number of policy recommendations for the state of Ohio to address, including authorizing pharmacists to test and treat minor common illnesses and prescribe necessary medication to ease the increasing strain on the state’s health care system. News Channel 2 Cleveland recently highlighted this issue.
• Ending restrictive insurer/PBM networks and single-source contracts that are restricting patient access to needed medications and supplies
• Allowing pharmacists to dispense emergency medications without a prescription
• Requiring insurer/PBM coverage of compounded shortage medications
• Creating a formal assessment and referral process for pharmacies encountering high-risk patients
• Removing unnecessary prior authorizations and "refill too soon" limits from insurers/PBMs
• Allowing therapeutic substitution for drugs of concern and medications that are out of supply or in shortage
• Implementing Medicaid provider ID numbers for pharmacists
  • In March, Haley Nelson at WSYX 6 Columbus aired a special segment highlighting the need and opportunity to deploy pharmacists to alleviate the strain on the health care system. Ohio's provider status law has now been on the books for over a year, but despite our best attempts to work with Department of Medicaid officials, and despite the fact that Ohio's managed care plans have been seeking to better utilize pharmacists for over a year as well, the state has yet to implement the law and deploy pharmacists - even as the need to have "all hands on deck" grows.
• Allowing insurance coverage for pharmacist-initiated medications and OTC products 
• Authorizing and incentivizing pharmacist-rendered services (consult agreement drug therapy management, INRs, etc.) to relieve pressure on health systems and emergency departments
• Opening up pharmacist consult agreements to mid-level practitioners
• Addressing ill-timed, yet highly predictable price gouging by PBMs within the Medicaid program.
• Implementing supplemental dispensing fees in the Medicaid managed care program.

These are just a few of our suggestions, but we are open to hear many more. If you see any opportunities or concerns that you feel need to be addressed, please contact aciaccia@ohiopharmacists.org. 

As we discussed in the last Newsline, we continue to field a lot of phone calls and emails from pharmacists and pharmacy staff raising concerns about a lack of adequate stock of protective equipment, cleaning supplies, and resources for pharmacy team members that could increase the risk of germ spread to pharmacy staff and patients. While many pharmacies have adapted well, and done so quickly, there have been some disheartening stories of poor safety conditions that we have shared with media in an effort to pressure further changes. One of our recent media outreaches occurred in this in-depth Business Insider feature on pharmacy working conditions.

We have also raised these reported safety issues with the board of pharmacy and governor's office, and the board released and has made ongoing updates to their guidance addressing the practice of pharmacy in a safe and effective manner. Please share with your colleagues, managers, and employers. We are very pleased with the Board's work on this issue.

If you feel that your pharmacy is not taking adequate measures to maintain safe distancing between staff and and patients, provide for a clean practice setting, avoiding written correspondence about safety issues, or provide reasonable amounts of protective equipment (recognizing the shortage of PPE), please keep us informed, and let the board of pharmacy know as well.

A reminder to all pharmacists: it is your license, and if you feel that someone is unreasonably getting in the way of the safe practice of pharmacy, it is important to speak out, but it's also important not to wait for a colleague, a manager, a rule change, or board inspector. to keep you and your patients safe. We will be working to make sure your voices are heard. In the meantime, do what you think is right and in the best interest of your patients.

Stay tuned, and stay safe. OPA will continue working for you while you continue working for your patients.

And now, for the news...

Top News

Pharmacists called to do more as Ohio hospitals need more staff to battle coronavirus
WSYX Columbus
There has been a lot of talk about building up hospitals and infrastructure via overflow facilities to take on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio. But, what about the manpower needed to care for patients? "We know that we are going to have anywhere from a range of 6,000 to 8,000, on the most dire projections I have seen so far have been 10,000 cases per day," said Dr. Amy Acton of the Ohio Department of Health. With only a portion of that likely needing to be hospitalized, Dr. Acton said different groups across the state are working on innovative solutions. "Take nursing students or nurses who have been doing other kinds of work or patient care assistance and training them for a new job, or training a surgeon how they might become able to do some nursing things," she said. But some pharmacists are putting out the call, wanting to do more, like helping manage chronic patients. OPA member Allen Nichol says that it's time to bring in pharmacists from off the bench.

^QUOTABLE^
"In 2018, the Ohio legislature unanimously passed legislation that was signed into law to deploy pharmacists to help complement the vital work of doctors and nurses, but the state has not acted to implement the law yet. In light of the serious health-system capacity issues that have been raised by Dr. Amy Acton amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have urged Governor DeWine and the Ohio Department of Medicaid to bring pharmacists in from off the bench as a pressure valve release to an overly stressed care delivery system."

Hydroxychloroquine for a dog? Questionable prescriptions poured into Ohio pharmacies
Columbus Dispatch
Jennifer Tackett walked into her Meijer pharmacy in Hilliard on Monday to refill the same prescription of hydroxychloroquine she’s received since 2012 to relieve the crushing arthritis in her hands, only to be told the pharmacy had none. Just days before, an Ohio veterinarian filed a prescription order of the drug for a dog. And an emergency room doctor near Akron requested 1,000 pills for himself. Pharmacists across Ohio last week provided details to The Dispatch of questionable prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, or chloroquine, that have poured in from doctors in the past week. The prescriptions were filed as soon as an hour after President Donald Trump promoted them as a possible treatment for coronavirus. OPA members Sydney Schnee, Debbie Lange, Dave Burke, and Amber Lilly speak out about the massive influx of odd prescriptions.

IRx Accounting: Details on how the CARES Act impacts your pharmacy
Independent Rx Consulting.vcom/blog
Employee Retention Credit for Employers Subject to Closure or Experiencing Economic Hardship:
This provision would provide a refundable payroll tax credit for 50 percent of wages paid by eligible employers to certain employees during the COVID-19 crisis.

Fix PBM problems so pharmacists can serve patients
Columbus Dispatch
OPA's Stu Beatty writes in the Columbus Dispatch: "Over the past three years, numerous investigations by The Dispatch into pharmacy benefit managers have repeatedly revealed a misuse of government funds and excess profits at the expense of pharmacists, taxpayers and underserved communities. Ohio was one of the first states to fully investigate this growing middleman problem, and the problem has since been exposed in multiple other states and within Medicare plans across the country. Aside from the negative impact that PBM prescription drug overcharges have had on the wallets of plan sponsors such as Medicaid, the impact on patient access to care has been devastating ... Unfortunately, pharmacy closures are just the tip of the iceberg. Many of the pharmacies that remain in business have had to cut hours, services and staff, resulting in increased wait times for patients and less time for pharmacists to perform important functions, increasing the likelihood of medication-related errors, inappropriate drug utilization and patient harm."

FDA requests removal of all ranitidine products from the market
Food and Drug Administration
FDA on Wednesday ordered that manufacturers immediately pull all prescription and OTC ranitidine (Zantac) medications from the market. The decision is the latest step in the agency's ongoing investigation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen, in ranitidine drugs. FDA has determined that NDMA in some ranitidine products increases over time and when stored at higher than room temperatures and could lead consumers to be exposed to unacceptable levels of the impurity. 

Ohio pharmacists say some Medicaid payments shrinking due to CVS Caremark rates
Columbus Dispatch
After years of complaints and promises of government action, Ohio’s small pharmacists say that payments from one player in the state’s Medicaid program are again shrinking, making it difficult to keep doing business as a pandemic strikes. The independent drugstores and small chains, which often are the only pharmacies in Ohio’s small towns, are saying that reimbursements for generic drugs from CVS’ pharmacy middleman have been dropping this year, causing them to lose money.

^QUOTABLE^
"We have learned that coronavirus-stricken nations like Italy are heavily reliant on pharmacies, and unfortunately, PBMs have put Ohio in a horrible predicament as the need for local care grows exponentially as the virus spreads."

Pharmacists get licensing leeway to help fight virus pandemic
Bloomberg Law
State-run pharmacy boards around the country are mirroring federal efforts to relax restrictions for health-care workers by easing local rules on licensing and drug distribution as the nation battles a pandemic. At least thirteen states have offered some kind of reprieve for pharmacy professionals. Some of the biggest changes are green-lighting remote work, giving pharmacists more autonomy to handle certain prescriptions, and allowing out-of-state pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to practice locally if they’re licensed elsewhere. Some states, such as Arizona and California, are also letting out-of-state drug distributors sell products to local pharmacies, which could ease bottlenecks in local supply chains. More states will likely ease burdens on local pharmacists and distributors to promote a broader network of care as cases of Covid-19 increase, regulatory lawyers predict. Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, and Texas have already loosened restrictions on out-of-state pharmacists working in their communities.

Restrictions are slowing coronavirus infections, new data suggest
New York Times
Stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures are contributing to rapid drops in the numbers of fevers recorded in states across the country, according to new data from the medical technology firm Kinsa Health. At least 248 million Americans in at least 29 states have been told to stay at home. Kinsa Health, which produces internet-connected thermometers, first created a national map of fever levels on March 22 and was able to spot the trend within a day. Since then, data from the health departments of New York state and Washington state have buttressed the finding, making it clear that social distancing is saving lives.

Working Heroes: Ohio pharmacist Aimee O'Reilly
Live with Kelly & Ryan via YouTube
Check it out! Last week, OPA member Aimee O'Reilly was featured on Live with Kelly & Ryan, where she discussed how her pharmacy is doing its part in helping the community during the pandemic.

Pharmacists provide care during COVID-19 outbreak
Ohio State University College of Pharmacy
Pharmacists and student pharmacists are on the frontlines responding to the coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. As cases grow exponentially in the United States and around the world, citizens continue to converge on their community pharmacies for supplies and medications. As other businesses have been mandated to close their doors, pharmacies remain open—with caring pharmacists, students and staff ready to help.

Could Ohio pharmacists assist with COVID-19 testing?
WEWS Cleveland
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and state Health Director Amy Acton are both continuing to stress the importance of dramatically increasing Ohio's COVID-19 testing capacity. Acton issued an order requiring all Ohio hospitals, that do not perform their own testing, to send samples to one of four hospitals that can. In response, the Buckeye Institute just released a proposal calling to have many of Ohio's 15,000 pharmacists for on-site flu and strep testing, and later, even testing for coronavirus in the coming months. Greg Lawson, Buckeye Institute researcher, told News 5 if pharmacists were approved to perform on-site flu and strep testing at pharmacies, it would free-up coronavirus capacity for Ohio doctors, urgent care facilities and hospitals statewide. OPA's Antonio Ciaccia discusses the proposal.

Coronavirus: The US governor who saw it coming early
BBC
As the coronavirus outbreak barrels throughout the US, states have scrambled to get ahead of its spread, often after weeks of inaction. But one governor imposed sweeping measures days before a single case had been reported in his state.

APhA, OPA, and other pharmacy groups call for expanded pharmacist services amid COVID-19 pandemic
American Pharmacists Association
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain the U.S. health care system and limit the supply of quality health care providers, OPA, through the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, along with the American Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, National Community Pharmacists Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, National Association of Specialty Pharmacy, College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists, and Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, released a joint set of policy recommendations to enhance patient care during the ongoing health crisis.

OPA News

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources
Ohio Pharmacists Association
Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers in the U.S. and are on the front lines of the current coronavirus disease 2019-2020 outbreak. The Ohio Pharmacists Association is working with state leaders...

OPA Introduces the OPA COVID-19 Pharmacy Relief Registry
Ohio Pharmacists Association
OPA has been contacted by numerous members about their shortage of pharmacists, interns, and technicians during the COVID-19 outbreak. We are working hard to meet the needs of our members  in any way we can.

OPA Annual Conference rescheduled for August 28-30, 2020
Ohio Pharmacists Association
After direction from Governor DeWine's office, the leadership of the Ohio Pharmacists Association has made the difficult but necessary decision to reschedule OPA's 142nd Annual Conference & Trade Show due to COVID-19. We extend our gratitude to our members, attendees, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors for their understanding and for their commitment to the success of this Conference. The OPA Annual Conference & Trade Show will be held August 28-30, 2020 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in downtown Columbus.

Extension of Registered Pharmacy Technician Renewal and Technician Trainee Extensions
State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy
To address any possible workforce shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy has adopted the following guidance authorizing an extension of the renewal date for registered pharmacy technicians and automatic technician trainee extensions.

Employer-Based Pharmacy Technician Training Programs offered
Ohio Pharmacists Association
Are you an employer who needs to train technicians and wonders how to meet the board of pharmacy requirements for an employer-based training? OPA now offers two Employer-Based Pharmacy Technician Training Programs for purchase by a pharmacist.

OPA releases sample protocol for pharmacists to dispense epinephtine autoinectors without a prescription
Ohio Pharmacists Association
In 2019, Ohio delivered a big win to patients who suffer from life-threatening allergies when Governor John Kasich signed HB 101, the Epinephrine Accessibility Act, into law.

Want to be engaged with Provider Status? Take the Ohio Pharmacy Services Survey.
Ohio Pharmacists Association
Have you ever wondered what different clinical services hospital pharmacists provide versus community pharmacists? Do you want to be involved with implementing Provider Status in Ohio? Find the answers to these questions and start engaging with Provider Status by participating in the Ohio Pharmacy Services Survey.

May 13: APhA’s The Pharmacist & Patient-Centered Diabetes Care Certificate Training Program
Ohio Pharmacists Association
This program is an educational experience designed to equip pharmacists with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to provide effective, evidence-based diabetes care.

June 24: Pharmacist Training Program for Immunizations
Ohio Pharmacists Association
The Ohio Pharmacists Association was instrumental in the passage of HB 394 which allows Ohio pharmacists and pharmacy interns to administer all immunizations recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to individuals 7 years of age and older.

Ohio Pharmacy News

New Board of Pharmacy rules proposed
State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy
The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy values the input of all stakeholders in the regulatory process and encourages your participation in the rule revision/development process. Below you will find information on rules currently being proposed by the Board.

In this section you will find rules, including public hearing notices, currently under the review of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review:

• Public Hearing 4.10.20

If you have any comments or concerns on the above rule proposals, please email Antonio Ciaccia at aciaccia@ohiopharmacists.org. 

Naloxone access skyrockets after law permits Ohio pharmacists to dispense
Pain Medicine News
Over the past few years, the number of naloxone prescriptions filled in Ohio increased by more than 2,000%, according to a new study. That increase is attributable to a law passed by the state government in 2015, allowing pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription in accordance with a physician-approved protocol.

Health insurers ease filling emergency supplies of prescriptions
Cleveland Plain Dealer
OPA's Antonio Ciaccia and OPA member Jason Briscoe discuss some of the ways that patients can work with their doctor and pharmacist to be as prepared as possible for the current state of emergency.

In memoriam: Ralph Foster
Legacy.com
We are saddened to report that we lost one of the good ones last month. Long-time OPA member, volunteer, and supporter Ralph Foster passed away at the age of 87. Ralph and his wife Ruth donated the funds for the flagpole outside the OPA offices, and spent a lot of time giving back to his profession. We will miss his sporadic visits, pharmacy stories, and infectious good nature.

Inhaler medication shortage during COVID-19 pandemic
WJW Cleveland
As coronavirus cases continue to rise some pharmacists are expressing concern about a shortage of albuterol inhaler medication often used by people who have asthma. "We're definitely seeing that the albuterol shortage is impacted by the COVID pandemic," explained OPA member Jaclyn Boyle, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice a Northeast Ohio Medical University. Boyle says the concern is patients with COVID-19 in the hospital using a nebulizer to help with breathing could spread the virus in the air. Although she stresses the science behind that worry so far is unproven. OPA Executive Director Ernie Boyd also discusses the supply issues.

Ohio should enlist pharmacists to fight the pandemic
Buckeye Institute
In a new policy memo, Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: Enlisting Pharmacists to Fight COVID-19, released recently, The Buckeye Institute outlines how Ohio can relieve some of the burdens on other health care workers by allowing pharmacists to test for COVID-19 and treat common illnesses.

A look at the COVID-19 crisis from a pharmacist's perspective
NPR
OPA member Twila Boyd, a pharmacist in South Charleston, Ohio, explains what it's like to treat patients in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. Excellent interview!

Ohio pharmacy board restricts prescriptions for experimental coronavirus treatment drugs
Columbus Dispatch
Ohio doctors are obtaining so many prescriptions of a possible coronavirus treatment for themselves, their families, their colleagues and their friends that it’s wiping out the supply for everybody else — including people with lupus who will become more susceptible to the virus without their usual medication. As a result, Ohio’s pharmacy board, in an emergency meeting Sunday morning, barred pharmacists from dispensing chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 unless a person has tested positive for the virus or is otherwise approved by the pharmacy board’s executive director. In order to get either of those drugs, the patient must have their positive test disclosed by the doctor on the prescription request. The prescription must be limited to a 14-day supply, and no refills are permitted without a new written prescription.

Ohio doctors under investigation for self prescribing Hydroxychloroquine
WEWS Cleveland
Some Ohio doctors are under the microscope for self prescribing the drug Hydroxychloroquine, which is now being used to treat some COVID-19 patients. Authorities said immediately after President Trump mentioned the drug showing promise in fighting COVID-19, Ohio pharmacies saw an uptick in prescriptions. "We were seeing about double or triple the demand that is typical, " said Antonio Ciaccia, Ohio Pharmacists Association. Pharmacists were so concerned, Ciaccia said, the OPA went to the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy about doctors inappropriately prescribing the drug.

Local distiller begins churning out hand sanitizer during crisis
Athens News
With the dwindling supply of hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies in the U.S. due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, local distillers including Kelly Sauber, owner of the West End Distillery and Ciderworks in Athens, are moving to produce their own hand sanitizer, using equipment they already have. Sauber last week began selling his locally made liquid hand sanitizer at Shriver's Pharmacies, available in bulk or in pre-prepared 4-ounce spray bottles.

Northeast Ohio coronavirus drug hoarding hurting lupus, arthritis patients
WEWS Cleveland
The desperate search for drugs, which may help fight the coronavirus, is now causing a growing shortage of a drug that is crucial for patients suffering from lupus and arthritis. The Ohio Pharmacists Association reported a huge run on the drug hydroxychloroquine, shortly after President Donald Trump announced the drug showed some promise in the treatment of COVID-19 last month. Antonio Ciaccia with the Ohio Pharmacists Association said the Ohio Pharmacy Board was then forced to issue stricter standards in the prescribing of hydroxychloroquine after some Ohio doctors were accused of fraudulently starting to prescribe and hoard the drug.

Pharmacists get creative to make sure Ohioans get their prescriptions amid coronavirus
Columbus Dispatch
Pharmacists on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic are doing what they can to fill prescriptions for patients while keeping employees safe and slowing the spread of the disease. At O’Reilly’s Family Pharmacy in Worthington, many prescriptions are now being delivered or picked up outside. Pharmacists and technicians are washing their hands between serving patients who do come in; they also are wearing gloves, masks and other protective gear when handling medications, and bleaching everything. “We’ve increased home deliveries and started doing curbside pickup so patients can pull up in their car and give us a call, and we’ll bring their medications out to them,” said OPA member Aimee O’Reilly.

Report shows opioid prescriptions in Ohio nearly cut in half
WFMJ Youngstown
A new report by Ohio's State Pharmacy Board shows a continued decline in opioids dispensed to patients for the seventh consecutive year in 2019. According to a newly released report from the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy's Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS), total doses of opioids decreased from a high of 793 million in 2012 to 415 million in 2019, a 48 percent decrease. During the same period, the total number of opioid prescriptions issued to Ohioans decreased by 5 million. The report also finds Ohio healthcare providers are utilizing OARRS at record levels.

Coronavirus: Ohio AG Dave Yost, Ohio medical board want self-prescribing doctors to come forward
Columbus Dispatch
The State Medical Board of Ohio confirmed Monday it is working with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to investigate claims some doctors improperly wrote prescriptions for themselves and others to try to ward off the coronavirus. Yost also urged Monday that doctors who wrote such prescriptions report their actions to the medical board. Pharmacists across Ohio reported a surge in questionable prescriptions two weeks ago for hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine. The prescriptions were filed as soon as an hour after President Donald Trump promoted the drugs as a possible treatment for the coronavirus.

In Ohio’s Amish Country, coronavirus is taken seriously, health officials say
Akron Beacon Journal
In the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country, the Plain community has traditionally held itself a step or two away from the frenzy of the modern world. But after a 2014 measles epidemic rampaged through Holmes and Knox counties, many more Amish started getting vaccines and forged tighter bonds with public health officials. Those bonds appear to be paying dividends in the current coronavirus epidemic.

Editorial: Hogging medicines worse than hoarding toilet paper
Columbus Dispatch
The upending of normal life by the coronavirus crisis has given rise to tale after heartwarming tale of people doing thoughtful things to help each other through a tough time. These make the other tales — the ones of callous selfishness — a little easier to take, but no less outrageous. One especially unseemly gambit is a surge in inappropriate prescribing of two medications needed by people with certain autoimmunological diseases. It seems doctors have been writing just-in-case prescriptions for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for themselves, their friends and their families on the unproven idea that it might be helpful against COVID-19.

Charitable pharmacy continues serving Stark, Carroll residents
Canton Repository
Jim McInnes has taken a prescription antibiotic since a work injury in 2009 led to surgery and a re-occurring infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) returned whenever he stopped taking the drug. McInnes said his prescription originally cost $10 a month but increased to an unattainable $70 a month while he was recovering. “So, I quit taking it,” McInnes said. His physician connected him to the Beacon Charitable Pharmacy in Canton — one of three nonprofit pharmacies in Ohio. McInnes said he has no prescription coverage through Medicare and couldn’t afford his medication without the agency. He now pays $2 a month, the recommended donation for one medication.

From whiskey bottles to hand sanitizer: How Cleveland Whiskey teamed up with Cleveland Clinic to fill a demand
WEWS Cleveland
Always testing the traditional production of whiskey, Cleveland Whiskey has crossed over into producing a different type of product: hand sanitizer. The local company teamed up with Cleveland Clinic pharmacists to formulate, blend and bottle hand sanitizer for the hospital system.

Local Pharmacy makes over 200 hand sanitizer bottles for first responders
NBC4i Columbus
A local pharmacy delivered over 200 bottles of hand sanitizer to the county’s first responders. OPA member Dave Burke and Dave’s Pharmacy report that they made over 200 hand sanitizer bottles in their pharmacy and donated them to Union County first responders over the past couple of weeks. This is an effort to support and keep their communities’ first responders safe according to officials.