USC School of Pharmacy expands clinic with grant

USC’s School of Pharmacy received a grant of $401,370 from UniHealth Foundation last week, a non-profit organization whose stated mission is to facilitate community-based activities. The foundation has already funded much of the school’s involvement in safety net clinics.

The grant will fund the “Pharmacist Clinical Service Delivery Expansion and Medication Safety Improvement” project, in which the school looks to bolster its Center for Community Health clinic near Skid Row. Besides improving the clinic’s quality of care, the funds will also provide for full-time, residential pharmacists and student volunteers. The ultimate goal of the grant is to increase patient coverage.

“It has been tremendous for the School of Pharmacy and the community that UniHealth has supported us through our work in these clinics,” said Kathleen Johnson, chair of the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Economics & Policy, in an interview with USC News.

The UniHealth Foundation initially helped build the program from the bottom up — a program that has been succeeded by more than 100 safety net clinics.

“The USC School of Pharmacy’s commitment to safety net providers is exemplary,” said Mary Odell, president of the UniHealth Foundation, in an interview with USC News.

In addition to the clinic on Skid Row, the USC School of Pharmacy is also helping run several other safety net clinics around Los Angeles County, including South Central Family Health Center and Clinicas Del Camino Real in Oxnard, Calif.