[media-credit name=’SUNDEEP MALLADI/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Community Pharmacy, located just off State Street, will receive an advocacy award Thursday from Madison's Department of Public Health.

The award will honor the local pharmacy's work in helping low-income Madison residents receive affordable prescriptions — including programs where the pharmacy provided area homeless people with low-cost medication to treat a disease that spread at a homeless shelter.

Another program provided low-income pregnant women with prenatal vitamins if they were ineligible for medical assistance.

"It's a great honor to be recognized for the work that we've done," said Richard Kilmer, chief pharmacist at the Community Pharmacy, who will be accepting the award on behalf of the pharmacy. "We see a great need in the city for people who don't have insurance, and we've always looked for ways to provide prescription medications to people without insurance for a low cost."

The award nomination came from a local public health nurse who has worked with the pharmacy in the past, according to Amy Vieth, health education coordinator for the Madison Department of Public Health and the Dane County Department of Public Health. The health department examined the nominations, and a committee decided who would receive the annual award.

"We've requested people to nominate others — individuals and organizations — that they felt have done exceptional help in promoting public health in the community," Vieth said. "There're a lot of things [the Community Pharmacy] has done that are above and beyond what many pharmacies would do."

In the past, the pharmacy has teamed up with the Madison Metropolitan School District, where it provided medication to students without health insurance. Another program helped the Salvation Army provide affordable prescriptions to uninsured people.

"We've tried to work every angle that we could to help people get prescriptions when they don't have insurance," Kilmer said. "That was one of the goals of the pharmacy when it was set up originally: to provide medication to people who can't afford it."

Community Pharmacy was started in 1972 by a Wisconsin Student Association initiative, and all workers were comprised of recent pharmacy school graduates and student volunteers. The business is a worker cooperative, and there is still no official manager or owner.

The award ceremony will be held Thursday afternoon at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. Other award recipients include state Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, and Dr. George Mejicano of the University of Wisconsin's School and Medicine and Public Health, each receiving a leadership award.

Madison's Department of Public Health gives out six awards every year. The department is currently undergoing a merger with the Dane County Department of Public Health, which should be completed in 2008. The merger is expected to be cost-neutral.