Building Partnership To Restore Faith Pharmacy
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 8, 2010) − In an effort to give back to the community, EOP Architects and Messer Construction, the teams responsible for the new University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy building, will lead a community project with support from the college and its students, faculty and staff to complete a $367,000 renovation of Faith Pharmacy, a Lexington-based charity that provides medications to indigent patients. One of Faith Pharmacy's founding members is longtime UK College of Pharmacy faculty member and interim dean, Patrick DeLuca, who saw the health care need in the community and championed the project to make it a reality.
Faith Pharmacy is a project born out of a concern for the community and a strong desire to give something back, said Rich Riedl, UK capital projects manager.
"It capitalizes on the very talented design and construction team brought together to create the new UK College of Pharmacy and the commitment of the college, faculty, staff and students to provide quality health care to those less fortunate than themselves."
The pharmacy was established in 2000 by Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church and Christ the King Cathedral and fills prescriptions for patients referred by physicians and health clinics. The pharmacy is staffed by UK student pharmacists, faculty and alumni each Saturday morning. To date, 30,000 prescriptions have been provided free of charge to more than 3,000 patients.
Along with Faith Pharmacy, the project will also include the renovation of the East 7th Street Community Center, which is located in the same building. The center, also established by Maxwell Presbyterian Church, is used to register and counsel Faith Pharmacy patients. In addition, it provides services such as after-school enrichment programs for neighborhood children and is the site of the "Kids Café" where children 18 and under are fed with food donated by God's Pantry.
Both Faith Pharmacy and the East 7th Street Community Center are programs that operate under the umbrella of Repairers Lexington, a United Way Agency. Construction is expected to begin this summer and be completed in September 2010.