
Though the September AIDS Walk and 5K Run is hosted by Lifelong AIDS Alliance, for the third year in a row it is being sponsored by MOMS Pharmacy, a specialty pharmacy with two locations in the Capitol Hill area (one inside Lifelong and the other at 1120 Cherry Street) and 13 locations nationwide. The pharmacy specializes in providing medicine and support to people living with HIV and AIDS.
“[The pharmacy in Lifelong] is kind of a unique location,” said Andrew Nichols, MOMS Capitol Hill community liaison. “When you walk in it’s kind of like a livingroom setup, we’re not like a Walgreens. A lot of clients sit and hang out. We’re considering putting a computer lab in. We have a couple consultation rooms.”
The MOMS adherence pack helps patients keep track of pills.
Much of their efforts have turned to helping their clients with adherence to their drug regimen because living with HIV or AIDS often means taking a lot of pills each day. To make taking multiple medicines each day, MOMS developed an adherence pack (Nichols calls it a “bubble” pack) that looks similar to daily vitamin packs commonly found in health supplement stores. Nichols, a client of the pharmacy himself, personally testifies for the packs’ success.
“It helps people psychologically,” said Nichols, who said he felt like he was reminded of his illness every time he took his prescription, which became taxing. “You think of [the adherence packs] almost like vitamins, it’s an aesthetic thing.”
While the adherence packs present support at a national level, MOMS is sponsoring the Seattle AIDS Walk to show support at a local level.
“We’re sponsoring the AIDS walk because we want to put our resources back into the community,” Nichols said. “The more people use us, the more we can put back into the community.”
The walk will begin in Volunteer Park at 9 AM on September 25th. Donations and participants will be accepted up to the day of the event. This year, Lifelong hopes to raise $500,000 to fund their programs with 3,000 walkers. Lifelong spokesperson David Emerson said they just passed the six figure fundraising mark this weekend and have more than 1,300 walkers and runners registered so far. You can register and find more information at www.seattleaidswalk.org.