Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership
(HCMAP)
HCMAP connects concerned individuals, congregations, businesses, health services, and government organizations to increase awareness and access to affordable prescription medicine for Hunterdon County New Jersey residents in need.
Zion member Mark Peters, a pharmacist in the pharmaceutical industry,
understands that prescription drugs can be a financial burden to uninsured and
underinsured patients and their families.
Mark personally experienced this at age eleven when his mother died of
cancer. His family incurred thousands of
dollars of debt due to the cancer medicines his mother took during her six
month battle. Mark learned later that
the debt was forgiven by their local pharmacy.
In 2004, Mark said, “It was time for me to find a way to give back some
of what was given to my family.” Mark
approached Pastor Summer with an idea to link churches, health-care providers
and other community organizations to help people obtain needed medicines, and
HCMAP was born.
Today the HCMAP coalition consists of over 30 churches,
health-care providers, departments of county government and area
businesses. A registered nurse coordinates the program, not only
educating patients about medical assistance programs sponsored by
pharmaceutical companies, but also assisting them with the necessary
paperwork. In addition to obtaining prescription drugs, the program
monitors patients to make sure they are compliant with their medications.
Since 2004, HCMAP has helped thousands of residents and have provided over $2.5
million of free prescription medicines to uninsured and underinsured Hunterdon
County residents.
A portion of every offering made to Zion goes to
support the Hunterdon County Medication Access Partnership. Join Zion this August at The Somerset
Patriots baseball game to raise awareness and funds for HCMAP.
For more information on HCMAP, visit www.hcmap.org