DELLWOOD — A drug treatment clinic and community pharmacy are the newest tenants to open at R&R Marketplace, an economic and community hub that is living up to the name of the nonprofit behind its redevelopment, Refuge and Restoration.
The $20 million redevelopment of the once-empty 90,000-square-foot Dellwood shopping plaza by Refuge and Restoration, which was founded by of Florissant, aims to improve the health and economic opportunities for the surrounding area.
Community members will join government and business officials Thursday to celebrate the opening of the pharmacy, which provides to patients at the clinic and will soon be able to fill prescriptions for the entire community
People are also reading…
Ahead of the celebration, Beverly Jenkins said the new additions of and create “a beautiful marriage†with .
“They offer services that we are proud to finally have accessible in this community,†she said. “Behavioral and mental health services as well as addiction and pharmacy services are now possible here. That changes the landscape for any community moving forward.â€
Other tenants in the marketplace at 10148 West Florissant Avenue include Employ ºüÀêÊÓƵ, North County Innovation Center, a day care called Brilliant Angels Academy, a second location for Cathy’s Kitchen and a Midwest BankCentre branch.
While officials and advocates often speak of the need to provide more services to treat those with drug addiction, few people want those services near their homes or businesses.
But the Jenkinses invited the Assisted Recovery Centers of America to open a clinic in R&R Marketplace.
“I was so taken aback,†said Percy Menzies, ARCA president. “They approached us. They were like, ‘We want you in our neighborhood.’â€
Six days a week
It wasn’t easy, but with funding from the Missouri Department of Mental Health, ARCA’s Dellwood treatment center opened in January. It’s the first large walk-in clinic outside its downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ location.
ARCA also has staff stationed three days a week at the in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ, operates a mobile clinic that partners with various community groups and provides more than a dozen transitional housing units for those in recovery.
The new clinic in Dellwood is unique in that it is open six days a week, including Saturday mornings. Services are free, and no appointment is needed. Staff will assess patients’ mental and physical health, connect them to medication-assisted treatment for substance-use disorders and provide counseling.
“Come as you are, and we will treat you,†Menzies said. “We have urgent cares for physical problems, why not have urgent cares for drug and alcohol treatment?â€
shows that 449 people died in drug-involved incidents in the county in 2022 — an 11% decrease from a record high set the previous year and the first decrease since 2015.
However, the number of drug-involved deaths per 100,000 people — the mortality rate — increased 6% between 2018 and 2022.
Black men had the highest mortality rate at 140.9 per 100,000 population, nearly three times higher than the overall rate of 47.2. The ZIP code areas surrounding Dellwood have the highest rates in the county.
“That tells us they do need help,†Menzies said.
The clinic also houses three outpatient beds where patients experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms can safely detox using comfort and anti-anxiety medications, a key first step in getting them connected to long-term recovery, Menzies said.
“Sometimes they come in such severe withdrawal, and if you don’t offer them any effective treatment, you’ve lost the patient,†he said.
The next key, he said, is immediately connecting patients to medication-assisted treatment such as buprenorphine or naltrexone which normalize brain chemistry, relive cravings and block the euphoric effects of alcohol and opioids.
When ARCA partnered with a pharmacy to open inside its busy downtown clinic, Menzies said, patients getting their prescriptions filled went from less than 70% to more than 98%.
Patients don’t have to make an extra trip somewhere else. And they don’t have to worry about being questioned extensively by a pharmacist, long waits and uncomfortable stares from other customers.
That is where the new RxO Community Pharmacy comes in.
‘A friendly face’
Menzies was able to convince the online drug discount nonprofit to open its first community pharmacy next door to provide medications to patients at the clinic.
“It fits perfectly within our mission,†said Rx Outreach President and CEO Julie Erickson. “We want to help people overcome barriers in accessing what they need.â€
Rx Outreach, headquartered in Maryland Heights, is the nation’s largest nonprofit online pharmacy. It began as an internal program at Express Scripts and became a separate charity in 2010.
Last year, the nonprofit delivered 180,000 prescriptions by mail to every state at discounted prices, or sometimes free, to those in need.
Rx Outreach also partners with the United Way to help connect customers in need to resources such as housing, utility assistance and food pantries.
But the pharmacy had never dealt with insurance companies or a brick-and-mortar location. Partnering with ARCA would require both.
Despite the tremendous amount of work required for this new model, Erickson said the organization was committed to serving more people.
“It just was a really great fit. And it is exciting and scary, and I am so happy that my board (of directors) was courageous and said yes, we want to try this,†she said.
Because the area lacks pharmacies, Erickson said they also wanted to be open to the public. So while the clinic and pharmacy space were already connected by a door, they had a door to the outside cut into the brick.
They hired Jordyn Nordé as the lead pharmacist based on a recommendation from the ºüÀêÊÓƵ College of Pharmacy, where Nordé recently graduated.
Nordé founded the to provide students scholarships and social support. She grew up in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, and her father now lives in Dellwood.
Erickson said having a leader with ties to the area was important in connecting to customers.
“I wanted to make sure that we fit in the community, that we could become a part of it and that people could come to trust us,†she said.
Nordé said she’s glad her talents led her to the pharmacy.
“It’s awesome to be here and provide a friendly face as people are going through recovery,†she said.
Currently, the pharmacy can fill prescriptions for patients on Medicaid; and within a few weeks, is expected to be approved for patients with Medicare and most private insurance.
Menzies said he wants the new location to give neighbors hope that addiction is treatable, that they can live a healthy life.
“It’s like walking into any doctor’s office,†he said. “You should not feel ashamed to walk in here.â€
Editor’s note: Second references to Rx Outreach President and CEO Julie Erickson were incorrect in an earlier version of this story.