Valley Residents Board Bus For Prescription Assistance

PALM DESERT – Dozens of Coachella Valley residents braved the muggy weather Monday morning in order to get on the bus in Palm Desert.

The bus located at the Civic Center park was filled with possible answers to their medication concerns.

Known as the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, the program is designed to help residents with no insurance get their hands on inexpensiveor free prescriptions.

Since her recent divorce, Darcy van Dyke says she has been unable to afford the $433 monthly health insurance which meant not affording prescriptions.

“I have face cream for rosacea, and that cream in itself is $100 for just a tube of cream,” she says.

And to make things worse, Darcy is unemployed. The tough times are hitting her hard.

“I’ve been looking, but everybody’s getting laid off. I have family members who got laid off, and my home is in foreclosure.”

But once Darcy got inside the bus, things were looking up for her.

“You’re exactly the type of person we can usually find the most help for…that has no insurance at all,” says one of the program’s counselors.

It turns out Darcy was eligible for one program where she could obtain her medications.

“She gave me a lot of pharmacies in the area — several on Monterey Avenue. So it’ll be real easy to get it,” says Darcy. “I feel better. I feel hopeful.”

The program began in 2005, but the bus tour did not start until the following year. The bus has stopped at over 2500 cities nationwide.

The bus continued to El Centro in the afternoon. It will make stops throughout California for the next two weeks.

If you need additional information about P.P.A, please call 1-888-477-2669 or visit www.pparx.org.