Grant funding made available by the Foundation for Community Health, Sharon CT, has allowed the Healthcare Consortium to help residents in the towns of Ancram and Copake get financial assistance for their prescription medications, according to a press release from the Columbia County Healthcare Consortium. In the past year, 12 residents have received prescription medications at no cost to them at local pharmacies. Participating pharmacies ainclude Copake Pharmacy, Pine Plains Pharmacy and Wal-Mart Pharmacy at the Hudson Super-Center. The program offers financial assistance up to $250 per month, per person for prescription medications to residents of Copake and Ancram only. To be eligible for this program, residents of Copake and Ancram must have a household income at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty guideline, cannot be eligible for Medicaid, and must have exhausted all other local resources for funds. The Foundation for Community Health is a private, not-for-profit foundation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the residents of the greater Harlem Valley in New York and the northern Litchfield Hills of Connecticut. The Healthcare Consortium is Columbia County’s rural health network and has been increasing access to health care since 1998.