MONTEL WILLIAMS BUS HELPS PEOPLE WITH FREE PRESCRIPTIONS

San Bernardino City Councilman Rikke Van Johnson congratulates LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc President Dr. Albert Arteaga for helping 38 local residents receive free or low cost prescription drugs. The Montel Williams’ “Help is Here Express Bus” visited LaSalle Medical Associates in San Bernardino recently and helped 38 people enroll in a program offering free and low-cost prescriptions.


LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc President Dr. Albert Arteaga watches as the The Montel Williams’ “Help is Here Express Bus” helps 38 people enroll in a program offering free and low-cost prescriptions. The bus visited LaSalle Medical Associates in San Bernardino recently. Those needing help with prescription drugs should call toll-free 1-888-4PPANOW or go online to www.pparx.org and sign up for the free service.



(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – “Montel Williams’ bus goes all over the country to promote prescription assistance,” said Dr. Albert Arteaga, president of LaSalle Medical Associates. “He and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance understand that sometimes, people need help in the form of medicine, and that no one should be denied that help simply because they can’t afford to pay for it.”

The Montel Williams’ “Help is Here Express Bus” visited LaSalle Medical Associates in San Bernardino recently and helped 38 people enroll in a program offering free and low-cost prescriptions.

The bus, operated by the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, came to at LaSalle Clinic at 565 N. Mt. Vernon Ave. The bright orange, 45-foot long bus loaded with information and helpful people parked in clinic parking and helped people from the start to finish.

The Salle staff called their patients who don’t have insurance and invited them to come and apply fro the free Prescription medications. “We wanted to make sure our patients without insurance had an opportunity to get the free coverage, said Dr Arteaga.

The PPA left brochures and information for those who could not attend the event. Those needing help with prescription drugs should call toll-free 1-888-4PPANOW or go online to www.pparx.org and sign up for the free service.

“Millions of patients are already receiving free or nearly free drugs from these programs, but it is clear that millions of other Americans from all over the country -- in cities and rural areas alike – are not taking advantage of the help that is available to them,” said Montell Williams, who regularly addresses critically important societal issues on his television talk show. He is the national spokesman for the Partnership for Prescription Assistance.

The PPA’s goal is to educate uninsured and under-insured patients about drug assistance programs. It makes an effort to match patients with programs that appear to meet their needs.

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (toll-free, 1-888-4PPANOW; www.pparx.org) is the only resource providing a single place to find more than 475 patient assistance programs, which include more than 180 programs offered by the pharmaceutical industry, according to www.pphrma.org , a website for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

More than 70 national health care organizations, as well as more than 1,000 local organizations make up the partnership. The national organizations include the American Academy of Family Physicians, the National Urban League, United Way of America, Easter Seals and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.


LaSalle Medical Associates, Inc. has 115 employees (including 13 physicians). LaSalle welcomes patients at all five of their Inland Empire clinics: 17577 Arrow Blvd. in Fontana; 1505 Seventeenth Street and 565 North Mt. Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino; 16455 Main St. in Hesperia; and 31762 Mission Trail in Lake Elsinore.

Appointments aren’t required, but are recommended by calling (909) 890-0407.
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