College of Pharmacy’s Medicare Call Lab Awarded Dignity Health Community Health Improvement Grant

In January, Roseman University College of Pharmacy’s Medicare Call Lab was awarded a $27,000 Dignity Health Community Health Improvement Grant. In collaboration with Dignity Health’s Medicare Assistance Program and the State of Nevada’s Aging and Disability Services Division, the grant will fund the Medicare Call Lab in training pharmacy and nursing student volunteers to provide free, unbiased Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved counseling to Medicare beneficiaries regarding cost effective plan selection and federal and state assistance programs.

Accepting the grant on behalf of the College of Pharmacy at a ceremony held at St. Rose Hospitals de Lima campus, were Dr. Larry Fannin, Dean, Dr. Leiana Oswald, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Assessment, Dr. Michelle Hon, Director of Experiential Education (APPE), and Teresa Rawlins who works with Roseman students in the Medicare Call Lab.

“The Community Grants Program is one way Dignity Health puts its mission and values into practice,” said Sister Katie McGrail, O.P., Chair of the Community Grants Committee. “We are able to work collaboratively with community partners who share our goal of serving the vulnerable and underserved. Sharing Humankindness is a big task and we can’t change the world by ourselves.”

In the January Issue of Nevada Aging and Disability Division’s quarterly Medicare Assistance Program (MAP) newsletter, the Medicare Call Lab shared that in the few months leading up to the issue, it had six students certify as Level 2 Counselors. Congratulations were extended to La Kisha B., Katherine H., Akruti P., Ashley G., Vinh N., and Alex W. The Medicare Call Lab reported experiences in late 2022 where students were able to counsel Nevada beneficiaries in their native languages, including Vietnamese, Hindi, Spanish, Ethiopian, and Gujarati! And students are prepared to counsel in Polish, Russian, Korean, and Chinese.

These efforts support the Dignity Health Community Grants Program’s more-than-30-year tradition of addressing some of the greatest health needs in southern Nevada, emphasizing prevention, engaging diverse community stakeholders, and building upon existing services in the community.

Roseman University College of Pharmacy’s Medicare Call Lab was among $350,000 in grants awarded to six southern Nevada non-profit collaborations. Across Dignity Health, the Community Health Improvement Grants program has awarded $91 million to nearly 3,800 health improvement projects since 1991. Grants are funded by contributions from member hospitals and are used to deliver services, strengthen service systems, and improve the health and well-being of vulnerable and underserved populations.

Sister Katie added, “Dignity Health is proud to support those who are supporting our community and our neighbors. We are fortunate to have so many committed groups in southern Nevada working with us to address important issues, like access to care and the needs of our vulnerable seniors. We are grateful for all the applications we received and congratulate this year’s grant recipients.”

Need help with your Medicare Benefits. The Medicare Call Lab is available to offer free and unbiased assistance to answer your Medicare questions. To make an appointment, call 702-968-6615 or email medicare@roseman.edu.