The ‘Beav’ promotes prescription assistance

By Karen Donato
Staff Writer
    Aroostook County residents not only got to meet Jerry Mathers, of the popular TV show “Leave it to Beaver”, they also were educated on the new prescription drug program available to citizens without prescription coverage.
    “The Help is Here Express” toured the state from Ft. Kent to southern Maine the week of Nov. 10.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
TWO FOR ONE — Joanie Sides from Sherman got to meet Jerry Mathers from the “Leave it to Beaver” show and also learn about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance program. Sides relies on medication daily for a chronic medical condition. She has little to no coverage and hopes this program will give her some assistance. Mathers was at Houlton Regional Hospital promoting the national program.
    Jerry Mathers, who won the hearts of America in 1957 and continued for six seasons participating in 234 episodes, is this year’s spokesman for the program. Named one of the most well known individuals in television history by “People” magazine in 1989, Americans and people throughout the world are familiar with Mathers, who is currently one of the nation’s leading lecturers on living with and dealing with diabetes.
    Mathers will travel the country on the “Help is Here Express” to help uninsured and financially struggling Mainers access information on programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free. The bus tour is part of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) – a nationwide effort sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies – raising awareness of patient assistance programs and the need to effectively address the rising and alarming rates of chronic disease in the United States. Patients can also learn about new medicines in development to fight chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and asthma.
    To date, the PPA has helped more than five million people across America, including more than 21,000 patients in Maine. Since its launch in April 2005, the PPA bus tour has visited all 50 states and more than 2,000 cities to raise awareness about patient assistance programs.
    The “Help is Here Express” is staffed by trained specialists able to quickly help uninsured patients in need, access information on more than 75 patient assistance programs, including nearly 200 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies.
    Individuals can access the easy-to-use Web site (www.pparx.org) or call the toll-free phone number (1-888-4PPA-NOW) where trained operators field calls in 150 languages.
    Innovative medications and treatments — along with improved access to prescription assistance program information through the PPA — may help to reduce the number of deaths caused by chronic disease every year, according to Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. Medicines in development by America’s pharmaceutical research companies include 277 life-saving and life-improving medicines for heart disease and stroke, 646 medicines to treat several types of cancer and 95 medicines for diabetes.
    “The PPA is meant to help people who are uninsured and financially struggling,” said Billy Tauzin, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. “For patients in Maine suffering from chronic disease, it is especially important for them to know that help is here.”
    Aroostook County residents can also call United Way’s 2-1-1 service, Maine’s health and human service information and referral line, which partnered with PPA and other health agencies and hospitals in a county-wide collaborative launched last spring to increase Aroostook County residents’ access to important prescription drugs. Currently this pilot program with 2-1-1 is available only to Aroostook County.
    Little did I know when I was six years old and watching “Leave it to Beaver” on our black and white television that I would someday be interviewing him. He looks much the same, but the freckles that I remembered had faded away.
    Some local residents came just to see the television star, while others wanted to know more about the program he was promoting. They ranged in age from 15 to 87, from students to CEOs. Mathers has touched many.
    When asked about the former cast members of the “Leave it to Beaver” show, he said that he has remained close to each one. Hugh Beaumont, whose TV name was Ward Cleaver, passed away in 1982, Barbara Billingsley; June Cleaver is 92 years old. Wally, played by Tony Dow builds luxury condominiums and is a sculptor of modern art. He just recently had a work of art exhibited in the Louvre in Paris. Ken Osmond; Eddie Haskell became a Los Angeles police officer. He was wounded in the line of duty and has received several commendations. He has since retired.
    Mathers, 60, lives in Los Angeles where he has dabbled in real estate and owned a catering business. He has three grown children.     
    Not long ago, he received the present of his “life”. A friend of his who is a doctor gave him the gift of a physical. After the diagnosis of diabetes, she told him if he wanted to live to see his grandchildren then he needed to take care of himself.
    Mathers said, “That was a wake-up call.”
    He took off 60 pounds and started watching his diet. He became more diligent of pacing himself and exercising.
    Mathers enjoys his role as spokesperson for the PPA and hopes that he can make a difference.