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Caring for Women’s Health: A Partnership with the SkillBuilders Fund

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At Pharmacy of Grace, we are honored to be among this year’s SkillBuilders Fund grant recipients. This generous gift, awarded on behalf of the SkillBuilders Fund Board of Directors, will directly support our efforts to provide life-saving medications to women and girls in Wyandotte County living below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

About the SkillBuilders Fund

The SkillBuilders Fund is a private foundation committed to helping women and girls in the Kansas City region realize their full potential. With a focus on education, entrepreneurship, and leadership, the fund supports programs that promote self-sufficiency and long-term success. By removing barriers and creating new opportunities, they are helping organizations like ours build stronger, healthier communities.

You can view this year’s full list of grant recipients here.

A Growing Need

The need for affordable healthcare access for women continues to grow. In 2024, 63% of Pharmacy of Grace patients were women, a 3% increase from the previous year. Even more notably, the number of prescriptions filled for female patients more than doubled, signaling a rising demand for affordable medication.

We also saw a 5% increase in the number of low-income women accessing our services. These numbers represent more than just statistics. They reflect real people—women who are choosing their health and well-being, often for the first time in a long while.

Pharmacist Kari Duede has seen first hand the joy on a patient’s face when they realize they can finally afford their medication and prioritize their health. “As a working mom, I know how important it is to have support. At Pharmacy of Grace, we are making medications more accessible and affordable, to help women care for themselves, and their families,” Duede said.  “When access to medicine isn’t a barrier, women can live fuller, healthier lives, which in turn benefits the community as a whole.”

A Patient Story: Dawn Michelle

Dawn Michelle’s story highlights what accessible, compassionate care can do. After becoming unemployed due to a medical condition, she found herself in a difficult gap without health coverage. Finding Pharmacy of Grace offered her some much-needed relief. Our knowledgeable and friendly team helped her manage her medication costs during an incredibly challenging time.

Even after qualifying for disability assistance, Dawn still turns to us for help. When her benefits don’t fully cover her complex medication regimen, our staff works to find affordable options. For patients like Dawn, this support is more than helpful—it’s life-changing.

Our Community Impact

Many of the people we serve come through our partner organization, Mercy and Truth Medical Missions. As their contracted pharmacy, we help ensure that patients receive consistent, affordable care. Together, we are making meaningful strides toward health equity in our community.

Thank You

To the SkillBuilders Fund, thank you for believing in our mission and investing in the health and stability of women and girls in Wyandotte County. Your support is creating real change, one patient at a time.

Woman smiling with text "SkillBuilders Fund Supports Women's Health"

Debunking Vaccine Myths: Why People with High Blood Pressure and Diabetes Need to Get Vaccinated

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Vaccines are one of the most safe and effective ways to prevent serious illness, yet myths and misinformation often keep people from getting the protection they need. Many people have never experienced a major outbreak of the many, once-deadly diseases that have been eliminated in the United States due to vaccines.  As vaccine hesitancy and complacency grows, the risk of re-emergence of these diseases increases.

If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, staying up to date on vaccinations is especially important. 

Why Vaccines Matter for People with High Blood Pressure & Diabetes 

Research shows that people with chronic conditions are at a higher risk of complications from vaccine-preventable diseases. For example: 

  • The Flu: Individuals with diabetes are three times more likely to be hospitalized from the flu. 
  • Pneumonia: People with hypertension have a higher risk of serious lung infections that can lead to hospitalization. 
  • COVID-19: Those with high blood pressure or diabetes face a significantly higher risk of severe illness and complications from COVID-19. 

Debunking Vaccine MythsLet’s talk about a few of the misconceptions about vaccines.  

Myth #1: Vaccines are Only for Children 

Fact: While vaccines play a crucial role in childhood health, they are just as important for adults, especially those with underlying health conditions. Certain illnesses, such as influenza and pneumonia, can be more severe in adults, especially adults with chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Staying vaccinated reduces the risk of serious complications, hospitalizations, and even death. 

Myth #2: If I Manage My Condition with Medications, I Don’t Need Vaccines 

Fact: Even if your blood pressure or blood sugar is well-controlled, these conditions still weaken your immune system and increase your vulnerability to infections. A simple cold or flu can escalate into something far more dangerous, such as pneumonia or sepsis. Vaccination provides an extra layer of defense, reducing the likelihood of severe illness. 

Myth #3: Vaccines Can Make Me Sick 

Fact: Some people worry that vaccines will give them the illness they’re meant to prevent. However, vaccines contain either inactive or weakened viruses that cannot cause the disease. While some people may experience mild side effects, such as a sore arm or a low-grade fever, these symptoms are far less severe than the actual disease itself. Additionally, the “sick feeling” you experience is actually your body learning how to fight the disease. 

Myth #4: Many ingredients in vaccines are dangerous 

Fact:  Many of the ingredients in vaccines that some people are concerned about occur naturally.  They are included in vaccines in lower concentrations than are found in our daily food intake.  Formaldehyde is essential to human metabolism and energy building.  A pear contains 60x more formaldehyde than is found in any vaccine.  Polysorbate 80 is a stabilizer in many vaccines and in many foods that we consume every day, such as peanut butter and ice cream.  Aluminum helps boost the immune response to vaccines.  Higher levels are found in breastmilk, fruits, vegetables, and meats because it is the 3rd most abundant element on earth.   

 

Which Vaccines Should You Get? 

If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, here are some key vaccines recommended by health experts: 

  • Flu vaccine (annually) to reduce the risk of severe influenza complications. 
  • COVID-19 vaccine (as recommended by health authorities, including booster doses) to protect against severe illness and hospitalization. 
  • Pneumococcal vaccine (one-time, usually at age 50+, with possible booster for certain individuals) to prevent pneumonia and bloodstream infections. 
  • Shingles vaccine (two-dose series, usually recommended at age 50+) to lower the risk of painful shingles outbreaks. 
  • Tdap vaccine (once every 10 years) to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). 

Vaccines Offered at Pharmacy of Grace  

We offer vaccines at Pharmacy of Grace in KCK Monday through Friday 9am until 3pm. Shawnee vaccinations are available Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 9am until 3pm (but may require advanced notice since vaccines are mostly stored in KCK)   

  • Flu vaccine – available for walk-in patients anytime  
  • COVID-19 vaccine – currently still have walk-in availability (call to verify)  
  • Pneumococcal vaccine – available for walk-in patients  
  • Shingles vaccine – call to verify availability  
  • Tdap vaccine – call to verify availability  

Take Action: Protect Your Health Today 

Your health is worth protecting. If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, talk to your healthcare provider about which vaccines are right for you. Vaccination is a simple yet powerful way to stay healthy, avoid hospital visits, and continue enjoying life without unnecessary health risks.  

 

Annual Report: 2024

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March 26, 2025 (Kansas City, KS) — Pharmacy of Grace is proud to share our 2024 Annual Report, highlighting the continued growth and impact of our work in providing affordable medications and essential healthcare services to our community.

This past year, we saw a significant rise in the number of patients we serve, particularly those facing financial hardship. More than 64% of our patients live below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, up from 53% in the previous year. We also saw a major increase (7,110%)  in vaccinations for uninsured and low-income patients because of the strategic expansion of our immunization program, ensuring greater access to preventive care. 

Every number in this report represents a person whose life has been changed through access to life-saving medications and care. We are incredibly grateful for the support of our staff, board, donors, and community partners who make this work possible.

Thank you for being part of our mission to advance health equity in our community. Together we’re #MakingMedsMoreAccessible

Read the full 2024 Annual Report here: Pharmacy of Grace Digital Report

Annual Report Cover Page Image

 

 

A special opportunity to double your impact when you give to Pharmacy of Grace!

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October 17, 2024

Kansas City, KS — At Pharmacy of Grace, our mission has always been clear—making life-saving medications accessible to everyone, especially those who are uninsured or underinsured. We believe that no one should have to choose between their health and their finances. Today, we’re excited to share a special opportunity that will help us make an even bigger impact, and we need your support to make it happen!

Thanks to a generous $50,000 1-to-1 matching gift challenge from the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, every donation made to Pharmacy of Grace from now until the end of the year will be doubled! That’s right—every dollar you give will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $50,000.

Here’s how it works:McGowan Matching Grant Challenge

  • A $50 donation becomes $100.
  • A $500 gift grows into $1,000.
  • And $1,000 turns into $2,000!

This matching gift challenge gives us the chance to raise $100,000 in total—funds that will directly support the patients who rely on us for their medications. But we’re on a tight deadline. We have until December 31st to raise the full $50,000 and unlock the entire match. Every dollar counts, and we’re counting on supporters like you to help us get there.

Your donation, no matter the size, will go twice as far in ensuring that vulnerable members of our community can get the medication they need. Whether you’re able to give today or closer to the end of the year, your contribution will have double the impact, helping us continue to serve those in need.

At Pharmacy of Grace, we like to say we’re “Making Meds More Accessible.” With this matching gift challenge, we have the opportunity to take that mission even further, and we can’t do it without you. 

Donate today to double your impact: pharmacyofgrace.org/donate/

Thank you for your support!

William McGowan Foundation

About the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund: 

The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund has, since its inception, maintained a vision to impact lives, to create sustainable change, and to empower future generations to achieve their greatest potential. The Fund brings that vision to life through grant-making efforts in three program areas: Education, Human Services, and Healthcare. They prioritize programs that have demonstrated success, have measurable outcomes, plans for sustainability, and aim to end cycles of poverty and suffering. 

Resolute in the belief in the power of partnerships or collaborative efforts to maximize impact, the Fund embraces opportunities to work with other partners across their key program areas, looking for funding opportunities that share their philosophy and exploring the possibility of joint projects with other nonprofit organizations. 

The Fund is managed in accordance with values deeply held by its benefactor, William G. McGowan. Among these are ethical leadership and the belief that every life has equal value. For more information, please visit https://williamgmcgowanfund.org.

 

Popularity of weight loss medications impact diabetes patients

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May 30, 2024 – KSHB Channel 41 talked to several experts about heightened interest in certain diabetes medications that also help with weight loss. Pharmacist-In-Charge Michael Fink explained how the supply shortages are impacting our patients:

“When we’re trying to supply a patient with these medications and they’re not available, moving to an affordable product isn’t always an option for them,” Fink said.

 

KSHB News Headline: Are weight-loss drugs the future of medicine? Here's what KC area experts had to say.

 

You can read or watch KSHB’s in-depth report HERE.

Annual Report: 2023

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March 4, 2024 (Kansas City, KS) — Pharmacy of Grace is pleased to present our annual report for 2023. The data here will reveal the progress and accomplishments made possible since we opened in the summer of 2022. The data illustrates our growth and commitment to our community all made possible because of our strong team of employees, our supportive and engaged board of directors, and our community funders and supporters. 

We’re celebrating accomplishments but also looking forward to the possibilities ahead of us as we explore more ways to meet the needs of our community. We value your continued partnership in our pursuit of health equity, and appreciate you for helping make the vision of Pharmacy of Grace become a reality. 

Here is a link to our 2023 annual report:

Pharmacy of Grace Annual Report 2023

PoG Annual Report-FINAL (1)

State-of-the-Art Robotics Technology Helps Pharmacy of Grace Meet Increasing Demand 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Monday February 19th, 2024

Kansas City, KS – As the need for affordable medication continues to increase at Kansas City’s only charitable pharmacy, Pharmacy of Grace is turning to technology to meet demand. The CRS 225 (Compact Robotic System) is a robot that can fill 150 vials an hour. The improved efficiency also frees up the pharmacists’ time to provide in-depth healthcare and medication guidance.

 

Why A Robot? 

Prescription volume at Pharmacy of Grace has increased 160% in the last year. Our staff also has the added challenge of managing inventory from five different sources, including donated medications that can only be used for patients at certain income levels. This takes a lot of our staff’s time maintaining the inventory, so we turned to donors to ask for their support in order to purchase this state-of-the-art technology to improve efficiency. 

 

The CRS 225 is a reliable and accurate prescription dispensing system that automates repetitive tasks and reduces the risk of human error or cross-contamination. It also sorts the medication inventory to accurately track when donated medications were used and makes sure the pharmacy is a good steward of our donations. 

 

Pharmacy staff use barcodes throughout the process to ensure quality control and will oversee the dispensing process from prescription entry to verification of the finished product. CRS 225 prints all the labels but delivers the uncapped medications for the pharmacy staff’s final inspection and verification. 

 

About the Donors

Pharmacy of Grace purchased the robot from Kansas City-based ScriptPro. The purchase was made possible thanks to funding from The H & R Block Foundation, The Sunderland Foundation, Dunn Family Foundation, Vivian and Hymie J. Sosland Charitable Trust, the Breidenthal-Snyder Community Fund, and other anonymous donors.  

 

Healthcare Counseling 

One of the founding principles at Pharmacy of Grace is the pharmacists’ role in addressing patients’ healthcare needs. Pharmacists see patients 12 times more often than their primary care provider (on average), and this is why Pharmacy of Grace offers one-on-one counseling to ensure patients understand what medications they are taking, why they need the medication, and how to take it correctly. 

 

In addition to Spanish-speaking staff, Pharmacy of Grace has a translation service available to help overcome language barriers to ensure patients understand their medications regardless of their primary language. 

 

The CRS 225 robot frees up more of our pharmacists’ time to have these one-on-one counseling sessions to improve patients’ understanding of their medications, which improves adherence and ultimately leads to improved health outcomes for patients. 

 

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More About Pharmacy of Grace 

Pharmacy of Grace is a 501c(3) nonprofit in Wyandotte County, Kansas, which opened in July 2022. The pharmacy’s location near I-635 and Minnesota is an area of tremendous social and healthcare need, with 30-40% of residents uninsured and the highest number of people living in poverty in the Kansas City Metro. 

The Purpose of Pharmacy of Grace, Inc. is to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty, school absentee days, and unemployment caused by unmanaged medical conditions. Many chronic medical conditions (such as hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma, COPD, bipolar, and migraines) often go unmanaged, which eventually can cause people to seek costly medical care and possible emergency hospitalization.

The Mission of Pharmacy of Grace is to improve access to prescription medication for uninsured and underinsured individuals and to increase the number of prescription medications available to vulnerable populations in Kansas.

 

Watch our video about the robot here: https://youtu.be/9XtWzSbvttI

KSHB: Patients, pharmacists feel relief with insulin prices lowered to $35

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Kansas City, KS — KSHB stopped by Pharmacy of Grace last week to interview our Pharmacist-in-Charge Michael Fink about the new program helping cap insulin prices for Medicare patients at just $35.

Fink told reporter Elyse Shoenig about how he’s seen insulin prices skyrocketing in the last few years, and how difficult that has been for patients. This price cap will help some people, but Pharmacy of Grace is still concerned about who gets left behind. Uninsured and underinsured patients are still struggling to afford their insulin, and we want to make sure they know that Pharmacy of Grace can help. Fink told KSHB that he’s seen firsthand the powerful impact it has on patients to finally be able to afford their medications when they come to Pharmacy of Grace:

“I’ve actually had patients walk out the door crying when we’ve given them their insulin that they’re now able to take it home,” Fink said. “Instead of not being able to afford it and just refusing it at the counter.”

KSHB also interviewed one of our patients, Ralph Richardson, who needs insulin to control his diabetes. His son said that they come to Pharmacy of Grace because the insulin is significantly less expensive with us than anywhere else.

Watch the entire story on KSHB’s website: click here
A woman fills prescription bottles at a pharmacy.
Are you struggling to afford your insulin? Our Grace Meds program helps uninsured and underinsured people afford their medications, including getting insulin for a price they can afford.

We are also a full-service pharmacy open to anyone regardless of insurance status, including Medicare and fully insured patients.

Do you want to know if you’re getting the best price for your medication? Give us a call today and our friendly staff will be happy to talk you through the benefits of filling your medications with us.

In the News: Government Plan to Reduce Prescription Medication Costs

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Pharmacy of Grace Response: You don’t need to wait for the government to fix this problem. We can help you afford your medications today. 

August 30th, 2023 – Pharmacy of Grace was on 41 Action News KSHB and WDAF-TV FOX4 News last night. We were asked to comment about how the Biden plan to lower certain drug costs would benefit Medicare patients.

These government negotiations are aspirational and could take years to implement (if at all.) However, people in our community need help now and they don’t need to wait for the government to sort this out.

People with insurance, including Medicare, should call us to see if they are getting the best price for their medications.

Patients at Mercy and Truth Medical Missions or who plan to become a patient there, please talk to Pharmacy of Grace if you are having financial difficulties as a result of taking one of these 10 medications mentioned in the news story, or a similar medication.

Also, patients who are insured can use Pharmacy of Grace to help generate revenue that not only stays local but increases services to our uninsured and underinsured patients.

People who are uninsured and underinsured receive deep discounts thanks to our Grace Meds program, supported by grants and private donors.

Pharmacy of Grace tries to help ALL people have access to their medications at a price they can afford.

We’re here to help. Right now.

 

Links to the news stories from yesterday:

https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/wyandotte-county-medicare-recipients-pleased-with-efforts-to-lower-prescription-drug-costs

https://fox4kc.com/news/president-biden-has-beaten-big-pharma-with-drug-price-negotiations-white-house/

 

 

Still shots from news coverage on Channel 41 and Fox 4

News Coverage on Fox 4 and Channel 41 News

Kickin’ It With The Chiefs

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June 6th, 2023 – Pharmacy of Grace and Mercy and Truth Medical Missions teamed up with several other community organizations for Kickin’ it with the Chiefs! We wanted to help families get summer kicked off on the right foot with some gently used shoes, food, and lots of free health and wellness products and services. Our Development Director Ryann Galloway Tacha represented Pharmacy of Grace with several media interviews.

Giveaways included:
🌞 The Church of the Resurrection Mobile Food Pantry provided free food and MTMM had kids snack packs.

🌞 Pharmacy of Grace provided free over-the-counter medications.

🏈 Pictures with The Chief’s KC WOLF

😁 Free basic dental screenings and fluoride treatments for kids from Kurlbaum Dental 

🌞 Heart to Heart International offered free vaccines plus free hygiene kits and A1C tests

🌞 Wyandotte Angels gave out gently used shoes for kids and adults.

Thanks to our other guests:

Kansas Civic Engagement Table and KC Scholars for being a part of the fun.
These events with our community partners are a great way to make sure we’re helping people in many different ways. Many people told us they were grateful to get the free otc meds from us to help treat allergies or indigestion. One woman took advantage of the free A1C tests and discovered her blood sugar levels were dangerously high – so we made sure she’s aware of how Pharmacy of Grace can help her afford her medications and she can get her health back on track.
We are all stronger together and making a difference in peoples’ lives in ways big and small.
All four tv stations covered the event and Fox 4’s Kathy Quinn spent several hours out there with us doing live shots for the morning news.
CLICK the picture below to see one of the media mentions, KCTV 5’s story posted on their website: