HCHS receives Helmsley E-Pharmacy Grant

Funding Connects Rural Patients to Pharmacy Specialists

Patients of Harlan County Health System will benefit from the latest technological advances that expand patients’ access to quality pharmacy services, made possible through a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has awarded Harlan County Health System $165,875 for ePharmacy, a program that gives physicians immediate access to pharmacists 24 hours a day. The grant will be used to purchase equipment that connects local physicians with pharmacists.

Harlan County Health System will receive equipment to implement ePharmacy. ePharmacy provides 24-hour access to hospital-trained pharmacists, making it possible for all prescriptions to be reviewed prior to the patient taking the medication, even when the on-staff pharmacists are not available.
“This incredible gift gives local physicians and health care workers an immediate connection to pharmacists even if they live in rural areas that have fewer physicians and health professionals,” says Manuela Wolf, RN, MHA, Chief Executive Officer. “This keeps patients close to home during treatment.”

The Harlan County Health System hospital is a 19-bed Critical Access Hospital providing emergency, outpatient, inpatient, specialty clinic and surgical services from a spacious, modern facility. Adjoining the hospital is Heartland Family Medicine, a professional medical clinic staffed by a physician and two physician assistants. Heartland provides day-to-day medical care for patients of all ages from throughout the area. Visiting specialists travel to the HCHS regularly to provide cardiology, orthopedic, pulmonology and podiatry services.

The Helmsley Charitable Trust

The Rural Healthcare Program of The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust began awarding grants in 2009. The Helmsley Trust has awarded more than $298 million in grants to nonprofit organizations in the region through the Rural Healthcare Program. The Helmsley Charitable Trust, established in 1999, supports a diverse range of organizations with a major focus on health and medical research, human services, education, and conservation. To date,  The Helmsley Trust has announced more than $1.7 billion in grants to charitable organizations since 2008.