Partnership for Prescription Assistance Prepared to Help Georgia Workers Hurt by Recession

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The "Help is Here Express" bus tour will be stopping in Georgia the week of March 23-27 at various cities throughout the state in order to help uninsured and financially-struggling Georgians access information on programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free. With unemployment rates in Georgia having risen for nine straight months, and having passed the national unemployment rate (7.6 percent) to stand today at 8.1 percent, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) is ready to help state residents who face layoffs and loss of health care benefits determine if they may qualify for free or nearly free medicines.

The PPA, a nationwide effort sponsored by America's pharmaceutical research companies, provides a single point of access to more than 475 patient assistance programs that help those who are uninsured or struggling financially. Nearly 200 of the programs are provided by pharmaceutical companies.

The "Help Is Here Express" bus will be at the following Georgia locations:

Monday, March 23
EVENT TIME: 9:00am - 11:00am
ADDRESS: Woodlawn Forrest Church of Christ
1515 N. Forrest Street
Valdosta, GA

EVENT TIME: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
ADDRESS: Tift County Health Department
305 12th Street East
Tifton, GA

Tuesday, March 24
EVENT TIME: 9:00am - 11:00am
ADDRESS: Albany Tech College/Georgia Dept of Labor Parking Lot
1701 South Slappey Blvd.
Albany, GA

EVENT TIME: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
ADDRESS: First Baptist Church of Americus
221 South Lee Street
Americus, GA

Wednesday, March 25
EVENT TIME: 8:30am - 10:00am
ADDRESS: Columbus Health Department
2100 Corner Avenue
Columbus, GA

EVENT TIME: 1:30pm - 3:00pm
ADDRESS: Bibb County Health Department
171 Emery Highway
Macon, GA

Thursday, March 26
EVENT TIME: 9:00am - 11:00am
ADDRESS: Hall County DFCS
970 McEver Road
Gainesville, GA

EVENT TIME: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
ADDRESS: Clarke County DFCS
284 North Avenue
Athens, GA

Friday, March 27
EVENT TIME: 9:00am - 11:00am
ADDRESS: Lamar Medical Center
1448 Lee Beard Way
Augusta, GA

EVENT TIME: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
ADDRESS: Burke County DFCS
729 West 6th Street
Waynesboro, GA


"The PPA, so far, has helped well over 230,000 Georgians find out if they may qualify for free or discounted medicines and as we move forward into 2009, the assistance is still available," said PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin. "That's good news for the citizens of Georgia, where the unemployment rate has jumped from 5.3 percent to 8.1 percent since April 2008 and where some 393,000 people are now out of work."

Patients who qualify for help from the PPA's participating patient assistance programs have access to more than 2,500 brand-name and generic prescription medicines. In addition, the PPA provides information on more than 10,000 free health care clinics in America and has connected more than 277,000 patients with clinics and health care providers in their communities.

Patients seeking help from PPA can call a toll-free number (1-888-4-PPA-NOW) to talk to a trained operator or access the PPA Web site (www.pparx.org). It only takes 10 to 15 minutes to find out if someone may qualify for free or discounted medications.

To help spread the word about the assistance available, the PPA's "Help Is Here Express" buses continue to visit communities all over the country with trained specialists on board to provide information on how to access patient assistance programs. All 50 states and more than 2,500 towns and cities have been visited so far, and more than 5.6 million patients have been helped nationwide since the PPA began in April 2005.

"At a time when national unemployment is the highest in almost two decades, the PPA has become an important lifeline for a growing number of patients," PhRMA's Tauzin said. "Millions of Americans have been added to the jobless rolls over the last several months and there could be a sharp increase in the number of our citizens losing health care benefits."

"PPA is currently helping thousands of people every day," Tauzin added, including those who need treatments to fight such debilitating chronic diseases as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and asthma.

On a national level, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance is represented by Emmy-winning syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams, named PPA's national spokesman in January 2006. In addition, nationally recognized Telemundo talk show host and author Mayte Prida leads the PPA's Hispanic outreach effort.

"Since January 2006, I've been traveling the country talking about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, urging people to pick up the phone, log on to the Web site or visit the big, orange PPA bus to see if they may qualify for assistance," said Williams. "As a patient who must cope every day with the effects of multiple sclerosis, I understand only too well the importance of having access to the medicine you need."

More than 1,300 national, state and local partners are working with America's pharmaceutical research companies to spread the word about the program. Trained specialists work with doctors, pharmacists, health care providers and community groups, educating them on the process and use of the PPA's easy-to-access Web site and toll-free number.

To find out if there are patient assistance programs that may meet their needs, patients should call toll-free 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669) to speak with a trained specialist or visit www.pparx.org.

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Winter Weather OK with Georgia Peaches, Onions

Georgia Vidalia onions and peaches need wintry temperatures to produce their best in spring and summer. So far, conditions have been excellent, say University of Georgia experts.

“Right now, the Vidalia onion crop is progressing very nicely. We expect acreage to be pretty stable,” said Reid Torrance, the UGA Cooperative Extension coordinator in Tattnall County, where 60 percent of the crop is grown.

Approximately 80 percent of the expected 12,000 acres has been planted. Recent rain has made planting more difficult. “We are having to hop around to find fields dry enough for planting,” he said.

He expects farmers to grow 600 acres of organic Vidalia onions, a 50 percent increase over last year.

“Onions are very tolerant to cold when they are young,” Torrance said. “But, we don’t want a real cold winter. Temperatures in the low teens and single digits bring a risk of cold injury. By the same token, a warm fall and early winter can cause onions to grow too much too soon.”

Several winters in the 1980s wiped out the crop. But more cold-tolerant varieties now help prevent that, he said. The last devastating freeze happened in 1996. Improved varieties and management has helped farmers control diseases in recent years, too.

Onion farmers seed planting beds in September and transplant the young plants from the beds to fields in November and December. They harvest onions in April and May. To be an official Vidalia onion, the onion must grow in one of only 20 counties in southeast Georgia designated by the Vidalia Onion Act of 1986.

While onions use the cool winter months to mature underground, Georgia peach trees need chill hours, or hours below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, to stay dormant. This helps them bloom properly in the spring and produce fruit in the summer.

“Depending on the variety, Georgia peaches like to get between 400 and 1,100 chill hours between October and Feb. 15,” said Frank Funderburk, UGA Extension coordinator in Peach County.

Georgia has 12,000 to 14,000 acres of peaches scattered throughout the state. But most grow in central Georgia. As of Dec. 8, Peach County had received 375 chill hours. “We are ahead of the last three years. We are looking good,” he said.

In recent years it hasn’t been a lack of chill hours, but rather a late freeze that hurt the crop. Freezes in 2007 and 2008 cut the crop by half, he said.

“We can make a crop with low chill hours, but we won’t make a crop if temperatures drop too low after buds start to develop,” Funderburk said.

A freeze in 1996 destroyed the entire crop.

“We are hoping for a better year in 2009. By mid-January we will have a good idea of where we are,” he said.

By April Sorrow
University of Georgia

April Sorrow is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

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Flash Flood Watch and Tornado Watch for Parts of Georgia December 10 Until Mid Afternoon

DADE-WALKER-CATOOSA-WHITFIELD-MURRAY-FANNIN-GILMER-UNION-TOWNS- CHATTOOGA-GORDON-PICKENS-DAWSON-LUMPKIN-WHITE-FLOYD-BARTOW- CHEROKEE-FORSYTH-HALL-BANKS-JACKSON-POLK-PAULDING-COBB- NORTH FULTON-GWINNETT-BARROW-HARALSON-CARROLL-DOUGLAS- SOUTH FULTON-DEKALB-HEARD-COWETA-FAYETTE-CLAYTON- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CALHOUN...DAHLONEGA...CLEVELAND... ROME...CARTERSVILLE...GAINESVILLE...MARIETTA...ATLANTA... LAWRENCEVILLE...CARROLLTON...DOUGLASVILLE...EAST POINT... DECATUR...NEWNAN...PEACHTREE CITY 425 AM EST WED DEC 10 2008

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA... NORTHEAST GEORGIA...NORTHWEST GEORGIA AND WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA.

* UNTIL 4 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON

* AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO NORTH GEORGIA THIS MORNING. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 3 INCHES ARE LIKELY AS THIS LINE MOVES THROUGH. LOCALLY HEAVIER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE SOUTH FACING SLOPES OF THE APPALACHIANS WHERE STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL TRANSPORT THE MOISTURE UPSLOPE.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR HEAVY RAIN ACROSS THE WATCH AREA WHICH MAY LEAD TO RAPID RISES... ESPECIALLY ALONG SMALLER STREAMS AND CREEKS. IF YOU ARE IN THE WATCH AREA...CHECK YOUR PREPAREDNESS REQUIREMENTS...ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE INTERESTS ALONG AREA RIVERS. KEEP INFORMED...AND BE READY FOR ACTION IF FLOODING IS OBSERVED OR IF A FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS ISSUED.

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THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH 949 IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS

IN GEORGIA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 59 COUNTIES

IN CENTRAL GEORGIA

BALDWIN BIBB BUTTS CRAWFORD HOUSTON JASPER JONES MONROE PEACH PUTNAM

IN EAST CENTRAL GEORGIA

GREENE HANCOCK TALIAFERRO WARREN WILKES

IN NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA

BARROW CHEROKEE CLAYTON COBB DAWSON DEKALB DOUGLAS FAYETTE FORSYTH FULTON GWINNETT HALL HENRY LUMPKIN MORGAN NEWTON PICKENS ROCKDALE WALTON

IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA

BANKS CLARKE JACKSON MADISON OCONEE OGLETHORPE WHITE

IN WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA

CHATTAHOOCHEE COWETA HARRIS LAMAR MACON MARION MERIWETHER MUSCOGEE PIKE SCHLEY SPALDING STEWART SUMTER TALBOT TAYLOR TROUP UPSON WEBSTER

THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF...AMERICUS...ATLANTA...BARNESVILLE... BUENA VISTA...BUTLER...CLEVELAND...COLUMBUS...COMER...COMMERCE... CONYERS...COVINGTON...CRAWFORD...CRAWFORDVILLE...CUMMING... DAHLONEGA...DAWSONVILLE...DECATUR...DOUGLASVILLE...EATONTON... ELLAVILLE...FORSYTH...FORT BENNING...FORT VALLEY...GAINESVILLE... GRAY...GREENSBORO...GRIFFIN...HOMER...JACKSON...JASPER... LAWRENCEVILLE...MACON...MADISON...MANCHESTER...MARIETTA... MILLEDGEVILLE...MONROE...MONTEZUMA...MONTICELLO...NEWNAN... PEACHTREE CITY...PINE MOUNTAIN...PRESTON...RICHLAND...RIVERDALE... ROBERTA...SPARTA...STOCKBRIDGE...TALBOTTON...THOMASTON... WARNER ROBINS...WARRENTON...WASHINGTON...WATKINSVILLE... WEST POINT...WINDER...WINTERVILLE...WOODSTOCK AND ZEBULON.

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Seminars Offered to Low Income Women During Breast Cancer Awareness Month

• Oct. 3, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., English, Mercer University Life Religious Center, 1550 College St., Macon
• Oct. 10, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., English, Middle Georgia Technical College, 80 Cohen Walker Dr., Warner Robins
• Oct. 17, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., English, Southside Community Church, 4162 Roy Ave., Macon
• Oct. 24, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., English, Middle Georgia Technical Institute Adult Education Center, 700 Spruce St., Fort Valley
• Oct. 31, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., English, Mercer University, Religious Life Center, 1550 College St., Macon

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in order to help women become aware and find breast cancer in its early stages, the Mercer University School of Medicine’s will provide several breast health awareness seminars to women living in Central Georgia. Breast cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate with current estimates indicating that 1-in-8 women will develop breast cancer during their lifetimes. It is the leading cause of death of American women between the ages of 40 and 55.

The seminars, sponsored by the School’s Department of Community Medicine, will teach women why and how to perform breast self-exam, and what should prompt them to make an appointment with their personal physician for confirmation.

A free luncheon will be provided to women participants, and a door prize will be offered. Moreover, some of the women participants will be offered a coupon for a free mammogram examination.

“Getting diagnosed at an early stage is very important because early detection is crucial not only to the ‘survivorship’ of a patient, but to her quality of life while treating the cancer, and thereafter,” according to Fan Chen, M.D., in the Department of Community Medicine. “For many patients, early detection could mean not having to lose a breast through mastectomy or not having to experience aggressive chemotherapy.”

Earlier this year, Mercer offered two seminars for Spanish speaking women. All the seminars are sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

The schedule of the seminars is listed below, with the language offered and location. More seminars in Chinese may be given in October to December. For more information about the seminars, call Mercer University Department of Community Medicine at (478) 301-4053.

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