Dr. Emmanuel Ayanjoke has made history in Avondale, Cincinnati’s underprivileged community. He owns Altev Community drugstore, the area’s only black-owned drugstore.
He founded the drugstore with the financial support of McKesson, a health-care corporation. Altev Community Pharmacy is part of McKesson’s Project Oasis pilot initiative, which supports pharmacy professionals in owning and operating independent community pharmacies in underprivileged areas, according to WCPO.
Altev Community Pharmacy, which had its grand inauguration this month, offers a free discount program that reduces healthcare costs. “It’s all about our patients,” Ayanjoke explained. “It’s all about our dedication to their care.”
According to community organizers, the community pharmacy is the first to open in 17 years and the only one in the neighborhood.
“It means a lot for the community, for our community, because we have a lot of Black people,” Quentin Taylor, Avondale Community Leader, explained. “They don’t own cars. “They can’t get to their medicine.”
Taylor went on to say that having a black pharmacist in the community will not only break down barriers, but also build trust between the Black community and the healthcare system.
“Black people find it more comfortable to visit pharmacies… Taylor told WCPO that she communicates with him daily and that he understands their background.
Wanda White, one of Ayanjoke’s patients, thanked him for responding quickly to patients. “Sometimes I don’t want to do like the doctor tells me to do, but he’s on it, he’s like ‘Now, Wanda, you know you’re supposed to be doing this,” White went on to say. “He takes the time to go through every one of my prescriptions for me.”
Sandra Jones Mitchell, President of the Avondale Community Council, is also a regular customer of Altev Community Pharmacy.
“He also told me some new information regarding my medication. “There was some I was taking at night that I should have taken in the morning, and my doctor never noticed,” she explained.
