Pacific students hold Medicare health fairs throughout NorCal

Need help understanding and applying for Medicare Part D? Student-pharmacists from University of the Pacific are ready to help.

Students from Pacific’s Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences will help would-be Medicare beneficiaries at a series of health fairs throughout San Joaquin and Sacramento counties, along with the Bay Area.

The first Medicate Health Fair in San Joaquin County will be held from 1 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lodi Senior Center.

As prescription drug costs ride, students have helped Medicare beneficiaries save an average of $1,049 in out-ofpocket drug costs by optimizing their Medicare Part D plan.

Since 2007, student pharmacists have helped more than 6,600 beneficiaries save an estimated $6.97 million in prescription costs.

Student-pharmacists will also go over medications with patients to ensure that their prescriptions are all safe and effective when taken together.

Each Medicare Health Fair will also provide a number of different health screenings and services, including flu vaccines, blood pressure testing, diabetes screening, cholesterol testing, bone density testing, mental health screenings, anemia testing and asthma/COPD testing.

All of the health screenings and services will be available free of charge.

Student-pharmacists will also distribute drug takeback envelopes in which expired, unused, or unwanted opioids and other medications can be placed and mailed for proper disposal.

After learning that senior citizens have the highest risk for opioid overdoses, for the first time this year, beneficiaries attending will be able to get Narcan, the antidote for an opioid overdose. Narcan was donated by San Joaquin County Public Health Services.

Like the other screenings and services, Narcan will be free.