CINCINNATI — Emmanuel Ayanjoke knew what his calling was at a younger age, a pharmacist.
“I bear in mind once I was about 5 or 6 years outdated within the pharmacy,” Ayanjoke mentioned. “Folks would come into the pharmacy to see my dad to ask about their well being issues.”
He’s a third-generation pharmacist. His father owned a retailer in Nigeria, the place pharmacists play a much bigger function in well being care.
“The identical approach you’ll go to see your doctor proper now or your nurse practitioner was the best way you see your pharmacist, truly individuals desire seeing their pharmacist earlier than seeing anybody else,” he mentioned.
Now, Ayanjoke is bringing that kind of care to Cincinnati. He opened his retailer, Altev Group Pharmacy, in December on the north tower of the Avondale Towne Middle.
“There truly isn’t any pharmacy right here in Avondale in addition to us,” Ayanjoke mentioned.
“Loads of companies left. Walgreens left Avondale. This pharmacy is coming in to revitalize the group and supply a vital service,” mentioned Eric Kearney, CEO/President of the Better Cincinnati Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce.
Kearney mentioned he is not aware of some other Black-owned pharmacies within the space. He mentioned its central location makes it simply accessible.
“There are lots of people who dwell in that space, however what can they stroll to, what’s shut by, and what’s an inexpensive distance,” he mentioned.
That is one of many the explanation why Ayanjoke opened his retailer in Avondale.
“I knew I needed to personal a pharmacy in a predominantly Black neighborhood primarily as a result of I really feel with all my expertise as a pharmacist, most Black minorities didn’t have the care they deserved,” he mentioned.
He mentioned one of many challenges docs see in well being care is mistrust. Ayanjoke desires to bridge that hole together with his pharmacy.
“When individuals get to talk with somebody who appears like them, and is aware of them, and understands that challenges that they face it’s a distinct degree of transparency, completely different degree of conversations that they’re prepared to have that they sometimes wouldn’t have in the event that they didn’t see that type of individual,” Ayanjoke mentioned.
A WCPO I-Staff report reveals information from the Cincinnati Well being Division reveals Avondale is within the prime 5 neighborhoods for probably the most life years misplaced. In the case of diabetes deaths, Avondale leads the town in extra years of life misplaced.
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“Sadly, in African-American communities throughout the states we’ve a lot increased price of diabetes, excessive price of hypertension and people are the largest killers in our group, and the best way we need to tackle that’s actually spending time with sufferers,” he mentioned.
Ayanjoke mentioned what makes him completely different is the time he spends together with his sufferers. He all the time makes positive his sufferers perceive what they’re taking, why they’re taking it, and the way they need to take it. Then he appears at different methods to enhance their well being.
“We are literally partnering with completely different handle care organizations right here in Ohio that might truly enable us, paying us, to spend time with sufferers and assist them, counsel them, when it comes each to their drugs and in addition way of life decisions that they should make,” Ayanjoke mentioned. “We’re constructing a relationship with our sufferers and going a step additional and ensuring their drugs are working proper for them.”
He accepts all Ohio Medicaid insurance policy and provides a free low cost plan to cut back prices and co-pays. He additionally joined a franchise referred to as Well being Mart Unbiased Pharmacies, which helps him hold his prescriptions inexpensive.
“I’m very assured that we are literally doing a greater job of preserving the costs of prescriptions low [compared to chain pharmacies],” Ayanjoke mentioned.
