MENASHA —The Fox Cities Community Health Center wants to retain a registered nurse to help clients with prescription medications, and is seeking the community's help to fund the position.

The RN position, which administers the Community Emergency Prescription Drug Fund at the center, is currently being paid through an initial $25,000 grant from the J.J. Keller Foundation.

"This is funded strictly by the Kellers and we need to make the match," said Kristene Stacker, executive director of the center. "When the Keller grant goes bye-bye, so does the nurse."

The Community Emergency Prescription Drug Fund dates to April 2007, when a group of nonprofit organizations and concerned community members met to address the needs for people to access their prescriptions affordably.

Initially one of the group members, LEAVEN, which provides financial assistance to people in emergency situations, shouldered the task of conducting the program.

Jennifer Wanke, executive director at LEAVEN, said assigning a registered nurse to the task is the best way to go.

"It's such a specialty field. It really does need an RN to oversee," she said. "You need someone who really knows about the drug interactions. You need someone who, when they meet with clients, can plug them into the other resources of the community."

If a patient cannot afford a prescription drug, the center's nurse checks if free drug samples are available. If not, the nurse checks to see if cheaper, generic versions can be prescribed, sometimes through $4 generic prescriptions at Target or Wal-Mart pharmacies.

Clients are given vouchers for a one-time filling of their prescriptions under the program.

The clinic administers the emergency drug fund, though it's not part of its regular program. In the 29 months since the fund began, the demand has grown from one to three patients per day to 12 to 15 patients per day, with the average visit taking 30 minutes, said Stacker.

One clinic nurse spends about 32 hours of her 40-hour workweek dedicated to the drug program and thus is not available for clinic functions, Stacker said.

The Keller Foundation provided a $25,000 up-front grant in June and that's been carrying the expense of the nurse to date. The Keller Foundation has also provided a $50,000 matching grant, which expires Dec. 1, to fund the position.

The Post-Crescent ran a special Do It! Community Campaign in spring of 2008 to benefit the Community Emergency Prescription Drug Fund. The newspaper, its readers and partners donated $50,000 for the program's prescription vouchers.