Sinclair Health Clinic Becomes an AMP Pharmacy

 

What happens when a safety net suddenly tears?

This past June, the abrupt closure of Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic in Fredericksburg left 13 Rx Partnership Access to Medication Program (AMP) clinics without a reliable pharmacy partner. For thousands of patients, the question was immediate and urgent: where will my medicine come from now?

At a time when rising healthcare costs dominate headlines and experts predict that hundreds of thousands of people may lose their health insurance in the coming year, the stakes could not be higher.

Rx Partnership launched the Access to Medication Program in 2017 to serve clinics without licensed pharmacies. For years, Lloyd F. Moss Free Clinic Pharmacy filled and shipped prescriptions statewide. By June 2024, AMP had grown to serve 15 clinics and in the fall of 2024 the Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic stepped up to serve as the second AMP Pharmacy to address the growing demand for prescription services – including more patients at existing clinics and new clinics interested in joining. In FY25 alone AMP provided 26,411 prescriptions—valued at over $12 million—to more than 3,400 patients.

When Moss closed, Northern Neck-Middlesex Free Health Clinic quickly expanded its pharmacy to help fill the gap and now supports four clinics without a pharmacy and plans to add two more before the end of the year. In July, Sinclair Health Clinic in Winchester, Virginia, volunteered to step forward as Rx Partnership’s newest AMP Pharmacy. “We volunteered to serve as an AMP pharmacy because we see the need—not just in our community here, but everywhere in the state of Virginia,” said Dr. Mercedes Abbet, Executive Director at Sinclair.

Sinclair’s pharmacy team, already filling more than 3,000 prescriptions each month, rapidly built the systems and capacity to serve additional clinics. They have onboarded Fauquier Free Clinic and are preparing to support Loudoun Free Clinic, Mother of Mercy Manassas, and Mother of Mercy Woodbridge by the end of 2025. In total they will increase capacity by nearly 1,000 prescriptions monthly—ensuring patients regain access to vital medications.

That commitment to helping others is reflected in the pharmacy staff as well. “Our pharmacy has been growing over the last several years since I started. At the end of this year, our prescription volume since 2021 has gone up 67%, so we already needed to expand and grow,” explained Emily Layhew, Pharmacist-In-Charge. “We’ve added staff, trained new pharmacy technicians, and increased hours to keep up with the AMP program.”

This dedication, paired with Rx Partnership’s statewide leadership, ensures that Virginians living with chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, and COPD continue to receive life-saving medications.

Rx Partnership is proud to collaborate with Sinclair and Northern Neck to strengthen Virginia’s health safety net. Yet the need is still growing. A third AMP Pharmacy must be developed and additional partners are needed to serve more clinics and patients across the state.

✨ You can help. By donating or subscribing to Rx Partnership updates, you support Rx Partnership’s work with clinics like Sinclair and Northern Neck and leverage resources to meet rising demand. Join us in protecting access to medications for Virginians who need them most.