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Randy Edward's Story

 
Randy Edwards, a self-employed auto mechanic, and his wife Elaine took a lot of pride in raising their four children. Life was good even though Randy couldn’t afford health insurance because of a pre-existing condition: diabetes. In April 2010, while he and Elaine were waiting for the birth of their first grandchild, life took a turn for the worse. Randy had two heart attacks and had to undergo quadruple bypass surgery. During his convalescence, he suffered a stroke.
 
In addition to huge medical bills, the Edwards now faced another dilemma: paying for the expensive prescription medications Randy needed to stay alive. The combined cost was well over $1,000 a month. Fortunately, his physician was part of the 453 medical practices in our community who refer their uninsured patients to Med-Aid, a United Way of Forsyth County Breakthrough Initiative. At Med-Aid, trained counselors help uninsured patients complete the applications necessary to secure prescription medications for free from pharmaceutical companies. The service is free although donations are accepted.
 
As Randy put it, without Med-Aid, “I’d have had to make the choice between eating and living.” Thanks to Med-Aid, he won’t have to make that choice, and he’ll live to enjoy the granddaughter born in June.
 
Last year, Med-Aid made it possible for 1,654 local patients to receive free prescription medications valued at $ $4,252,522 from pharmaceutical companies. Your United Way donations made it possible. Randy and Elaine say “thank you.”
 

Health

The Challenge

  • There are 45,010 uninsured residents in Forsyth County, including 18.3 percent of the adult population. This ranks Forsyth County fourth worst out of the five most populous counties. 1
  • Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are the three leading causes of death in Forsyth County.2 
  • Without health insurance, many people suffering from chronic conditions cannot attain the prescription drugs they need to control or improve their condition.3

  • One in four people in Forsyth County is obese while one in five across the nation is obese.4

1 Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research   2 North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics 3 Forsyth County Community Health Assessment   4 Forsyth County Department of Public Health

 

United Way's Goal

  • We seek to improve health outcomes and ensure that our children avoid obesity-related health chronic health conditions by increasing access to affordable health care, ensuring that school aged-children attain or maintain a healthy body by weight by increasing physical activity and eating a healthy diet.

The Results

  • Provided 21,048 patient visits to community members who do not have health insurance - an increase of 9 percent over 2007.
  • Clients receiving health care at the free clinic indicated a 50 percent reduction in emergency room visits.
  • Increased the number of participating youth who exercised regularly by 30.5 percent, increased number of students exercising 30 minutes or more, and decreased their time spent watching TV.
  • Nine hundred seventy-one individuals and families received guidance and support from other cancer survivors that helped them feel less isolated and more equipped during and after their treatment for cancer.

United Way’s Partners

Cancer Services; Community Care Center; Hospice and Palliative CareCenter; Old Hickory Council, Boy Scouts of America, YMCA of Northwest North Carolina; YWCA of Greater WInston-Salem

 

Med-Aid

Med-Aid is a United Way Breakthrough Initiative to increase access to critical medications.

United Way’s investment provides operating support for Med-Aid, a pharmacy assisting uninsured and underinsured patients with accessing free or low-cost prescriptions.  Med-Aid brochure

 The Results

  • In 2008, Med-Aid processed 2076 applications for 615 patients.
  • Over 100 medical practices are participating in the initiative and are sending underinsured patients to Med-Aid to apply for prescription assistance.
  • The value of the medications received through Med-Aid was over $915,000 by the end of 2008. The total value of medications received has now exceeded $1 million.
  • Over 99 percent of the patients surveyed indicated they now take their medications as prescribed. Ninety-five percent report feeling healthier now that they are getting their medications.

United Way’s Partners

Led by the Community Care Center in partnership with Cancer Services, Crisis Control Ministries, Downtown Health Plaza, Forsyth Medical Center, HealthCare Access, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center  and other free medical clinics.

 

Sue and Danny Vandiver are two of the over 1,400 Forsyth County residents who have secured live-saving medications valued at more than $3 million for free from pharmaceutical companies through Med-Aid, a United Way-funded initiative. Click on the photograph to view their story.

ACC Athletes LIVE UNITED!

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) partners with United Way to support LIVING UNITED.

WFU LIVE UNITED PSA