COLUMBIA, NC (WNCT) — MedAssist in Columbia will host a local Mobile Free Pharmacy Event sponsored by ECU Health this Friday.

The event will run from 9 am – 2 pm at Tyrrell Hall, located at 906 US-64 in Columbia. This free medicine giveaway is open to individuals 18 and older and families needing over-the-counter medication items. No identification is required, and there are no income restrictions. Everyone is qualified. 

Participants will be able to learn more about NC MedAssist’s free prescription pharmacy program and receive free OTC items such as cough and cold medicine, vitamins, children’s, allergy medication, and first aid supplies. Groceries will be provided by Food Bank of the Albemarle, the Sheriff’s Department will have a medicine drop off and Tyrrell County Health Department will be giving out information on Medicaid. The event will take place rain or shine, and all OTC items will be given first-come, first-serve while supplies last.

Volunteers are needed! Please visit https://medassist.org/volunteer/, scroll down, click on the “Tyrrell County Mobile Free Pharmacy-4/2023” tab, and sign up for a timeframe that best suits your schedule.

Last year, NC MedAssist held 53 Mobile Free Pharmacy events across North Carolina. For each event, NC MedAssist is committed to bringing enough OTC medicine for 1,000 people in need. NC MedAssist’s overall goal is to help ease the burden of those in need by aiding people who have been forced to decide between buying food and purchasing life-saving medication.

ECU Health is a mission-driven, 1708-bed academic healthcare system serving more than 1.4 million people in 29 eastern North Carolina counties. The not-for-profit system is comprised of 14,000 team members, nine hospitals and a physician group that encompasses over 1,100 academic and community providers practicing in over 180 primary and specialty clinics located in more than 130 locations. The flagship ECU Health Medical Center, a Level I Trauma Center, and ECU Health Maynard Children’s Hospital serve as the primary teaching hospitals for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. ECU Health and the Brody School of Medicine share a combined academic mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina through patient care, education and research. For more information, visit ECUHealth.org.

NC MedAssist, founded in 1997 and the only statewide non-profit pharmacy in North Carolina, offers four programs to improve the health and well-being of children and adults: The Free Pharmacy Program (for prescription medication), the Mobile Free Pharmacy Program (for over-the-counter medicine), the OTC Free Store (for over-the-counter medicine and durable medical supplies), and the Transitional Jobs Program (for individuals with barriers to employment). Last year, NC MedAssist distributed $65 million worth of prescription and over-the-counter medicine to NC residents across the state. Learn more about NC MedAssist right now at www.medassist.org. You can also visit their Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter pages or contact them to find out how you can help.