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A Strategic Step Forward for NC MedAssist

NC MedAssist is entering an important next phase in how we serve people across North Carolina.

As healthcare needs continue to grow and access gaps become more complex, we are making intentional decisions about how to use our space, resources, partnerships, and staff talent in ways that allow us to reach more people, more equitably, and more sustainably. Our goal is clear: to strengthen access to medicine and health resources for individuals and families who need us across the state.

One of the ways we are moving into this next phase is by ending services through the OTC Free Store. The final day of OTC Free Store operations will be June 18.

For eight years, the OTC Free Store has served an important purpose. It has provided free over-the-counter medicine and health supplies to people who needed support, relief, and care. We are deeply grateful to every person and family who trusted NC MedAssist to serve them through the store.

We are also especially grateful to the many volunteers who gave their time, kindness, and energy and our donors who invested to make the OTC Free Store possible.  Both helped create a welcoming and meaningful experience for every person during every visit, and their impact will remain part of NC MedAssist’s story.

While OTC Free Store services are ending, NC MedAssist will continue providing free over-the-counter items in other ways. Going forward, individuals will be able to access OTC items through our Mobile Free Pharmacy events, special distribution events, and product distribution through trusted partners.  These opportunities will be provided on our website.

This shift allows NC MedAssist to move beyond one fixed location and build a more equitable statewide access model. Instead of asking people to come to us, we will be able to place more focus on reaching high-need areas across North Carolina, especially places where people have limited access to medicine, transportation, healthcare resources, and safety-net support.

Over time, the former OTC Free Store space will also be repurposed to support statewide projects, special distribution events, partner programming, and expanded warehouse capacity. This will help NC MedAssist receive, store, organize, and distribute more medicine and health supplies where they are needed most.

This is not a step back from service. It is a strategic step forward.

NC MedAssist is growing its impact with greater focus and intention. We are strengthening how we serve, who we partner with, and how we reach people who may otherwise fall through the cracks. We are also continuing to strengthen access to our Free Pharmacy Program, which provides free prescription medication for uninsured North Carolinians who qualify.

In the coming months, we look forward to sharing more about this next phase, including upcoming distribution efforts, local resources, and opportunities for supporters, funders, volunteers, and partners to help expand this work.

Thank you for believing in NC MedAssist and for helping us serve North Carolina with compassion, purpose, and hope.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at marketing@medassist.org or (704) 536-1790.

Sincerely,

Brenda Vass
CEO

NC MedAssist is ending OTC Free Store services after June 18 and moving toward a more targeted statewide access model. This change allows us to provide free over-the-counter items through Mobile Free Pharmacy events, special distribution events, and trusted safety-net partners across North Carolina.

This decision is part of a broader business model evolution that supports where NC MedAssist is going. We are working to become more sustainable, more equitable, and more integrated within North Carolina’s healthcare and safety-net system. This change allows us to better use our space, staff talent, funding, supplies, and partnerships to serve more people across the state.

NC MedAssist is not immune to the funding uncertainty and shifts happening across North Carolina and the nonprofit sector. However, this decision is not simply a response to funding cuts. It is a strategic decision based on what is best for executing our mission statewide, addressing capacity needs, and maximizing our space, people, funding, and partnerships.

No. NC MedAssist is not shrinking its mission. We are growing our impact in a more strategic and intentional way. The OTC Free Store served many people in one location. This next model allows us to reach more people across North Carolina, especially in high-need areas with limited access to healthcare resources, transportation, and medicine.

Free over-the-counter items will continue to be available through other access points, including:

  • Mobile Free Pharmacy events
  • Special distribution events
  • Partner-based distribution through trusted safety-net organizations

This approach allows NC MedAssist to reach people closer to where they live and work.

This model strengthens NC MedAssist’s ability to connect uninsured North Carolinians to the Free Pharmacy Program for prescription medication support. OTC distribution events and partner-based outreach can help identify individuals who may qualify for ongoing prescription assistance.

No. The Free Pharmacy Program will continue serving uninsured North Carolina residents who qualify for prescription medication support. This evolution is designed to strengthen access to the program by building stronger referral pathways and partner connections across the state through our OTC Medicine Program.

Over time, part of the former OTC Free Store space will become a hub. The Hub will support special distribution projects, local distribution/partner events, statewide response projects, and other activities that help NC MedAssist expand its impact.  The unveiling of the name will be announced later.

Yes. A portion of the former store space will become expanded warehouse space. This is a major operational need and will help NC MedAssist better receive, store, organize, and distribute medications, OTC items, and other supplies across North Carolina.

The OTC Free Store will close after June 18. NC MedAssist’s first special distribution events at the office are planned for July 28 and July 30. Additional information about future events, local resources, and partner participation will be shared as plans are finalized.

NC MedAssist does not anticipate reopening the OTC Free Store or opening another store elsewhere. We are reimagining the former store space as a statewide access hub that serves Mecklenburg County and reaches beyond it through events, partnerships, and statewide distribution efforts.

NC MedAssist will look at factors such as uninsured rates, poverty levels, rural access barriers, transportation challenges, local healthcare safety-net capacity, partner readiness, and medication access needs. The goal is to focus on areas where our support can make the greatest difference.

NC MedAssist is still developing and researching this next phase of our statewide access model. As we move forward, we will identify priority areas of focus and opportunities for collaboration.

If your organization is interested in working with us, especially if you are a safety-net organization, clinic, health system, faith-based partner, public agency, or community-serving organization, we would welcome the opportunity to connect in the near future.

Our goal is to work with trusted local partners who are already serving people in high-need areas. Together, we can help expand access to over-the-counter items, prescription medication support for uninsured residents who qualify, and other resources that help strengthen health and well-being in communities across North Carolina.

Donors and funders can help support expanded OTC distribution, statewide response projects, warehouse and space improvements, partner-based access models, and the Free Pharmacy Program. NC MedAssist will share more information soon about funding priorities and opportunities to invest in this next phase.  To set up a preliminary discussion, please contact Jordan Fletcher at jfletcher@medassist.org.

Volunteer opportunities will continue at NC MedAssist.  Volunteers will still play an important role in helping us serve people across North Carolina.

Opportunities include helping in the NC MedAssist warehouse, sorting and organizing donated medicine, preparing preorders for Mobile Free Pharmacy participants, supporting special distribution events, and helping distribute items at Mobile Free Pharmacy events.

Volunteers can visit our website to sign up for future opportunities or ask about committees, events, special projects, and other ways to support NC MedAssist’s next phase of statewide service.

No layoffs were made as part of this change. Staff talent will be focused on responsibilities that better support NC MedAssist’s expanded statewide impact, partner relationships, distribution efforts, and access to the Free Pharmacy Program.

The (Temporary Employment Opportunities) TEO initiative is also evolving. It will no longer be structured as temporary positions. NC MedAssist now has two full-time, permanent, benefit-eligible positions that continue to offer employment access for people who face barriers to employment.

A single walk-in location can only serve people who are able to get there. This model allows NC MedAssist to reach people in more areas of the state, including communities with limited transportation, fewer healthcare resources, and fewer safety-net supports. It helps move resources closer to where the need exists.

The OTC Free Store helped NC MedAssist serve many people, and we are grateful for that legacy. This next phase allows us to build on that work in a more focused, sustainable, and statewide way. We are not stepping back from the mission. We are strengthening how we deliver it.

Supporters, partners, volunteers, and participants can stay informed by visiting the NC MedAssist website, following NC MedAssist on social media, and joining our newsletter for updates about events, resources, volunteer opportunities, and ways to support this next phase.