[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 6, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E832-E833]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE BUCKHEAD COALITION'S INITIATIVE TO EQUIP PHARMACIES 
  WITH BACKUP POWER GENERATORS TO BE USED IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 6, 2008

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the 
Buckhead Coalition of Atlanta, Georgia, for its innovative program to 
ensure that Atlanta residents are able to access prescription 
medications in the event of a disaster or power outage. Buckhead 
Coalition is a nonprofit organization of chief executive officers, 
business owners and community leaders representing part of the Fifth 
Congressional District of Georgia. Led by its president and my good 
friend, former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell, the Buckhead Coalition is 
advancing a plan to equip pharmacies and drug stores with backup power 
generators to ensure that people are able to have access to their 
medications in the event of a disaster, either natural or manmade.
  One of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina's devastation of 
New Orleans and the Gulf Coast was the necessity for emergency 
generators in pharmacies. In today's business environment, pharmacies 
cannot operate without working computers, refrigerators and other 
electrical equipment. In the Buckhead area, of the twenty-two 
pharmacies, now only four do not have emergency generators. According 
to the American Pharmaceutical Association, the

[[Page E833]]

pharmacies of Buckhead provide prescription medications to more than 
32,000 of the neighborhood's 70,000 residents. An estimated 6,500 of 
these medications are dispensed on a daily basis, with many of them 
being time-sensitive medications for senior citizens.
  In order to prevent a potential disaster, the Buckhead Coalition, in 
conjunction with Home Depot and Georgia Power, has created a subsidy to 
cover up to seventy-five percent of the cost for purchasing a 
generator. This subsidy significantly reduces the barriers of cost, 
making it much easier and more affordable for these pharmacies to be 
equipped with these possibly life-saving generators.
  I commend the Buckhead Coalition, Home Depot and Georgia Power for 
coming together to provide this opportunity, this safety net, for my 
community. I encourage other communities to emulate this plan.

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