This article is the result of a partnership between MedCity News and Make-A-Wish Foundation.
With help from the community, the local police department and their special butler, SuperBlack and his trusted sidekick SuperRed, were able to defeat the bad guys on a sunny afternoon in June 2017.
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Christian and Shane Power, president of Watertree Health
SuperBlack is also known as Christian, a 10-year-old from Illinois with a heart condition. Christian took to the streets with his brother Noah, also known as SuperRed, to fight crime as part of his wish to be a superhero, which was granted by Make-A-Wish. His butler? Shane Power, president of Watertree Health.
“Seeing the power of a wish transform Christian into his unstoppable, smiling, crime-fighting alter ego was a moment I will never forget,” Power said.
The Make-A-Wish mission is to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. A child can “wish to be,” “wish to go,” “wish to do,” “wish to have” or “wish to give” and they’re encouraged to dream big. Like Christian who wished to be a superhero, these wishes are only possible because of the support of communities and generous donations by individuals and corporate sponsors. Watertree Health is one of those partners and has been since 2014.
Watertree Health’s participation in Christian’s wish was part of the celebration of the 250th wish granted through the partnership between Watertree Health and Make-A-Wish. To date, the prescription discount card organization has helped grant 450 wishes and donated more than $4.5 million.
A look back
Founded in 2010, the creators of Watertree Health launched the free prescription discount card as a way to help the 100 million people in America who don’t have prescription coverage afford their medication. Anyone can use it, even if they do have insurance, and the discounted price can sometimes be lower than a co-pay or give a discount on medications not covered by an individual’s insurance.
Watertree Health also has a “Greatest Prescription Savings“ tool available on its website, allowing users to look up the discounted price of a prescription with the card. Studies have consistently shown that 20-30 percent of prescription medications are never filled, often because they don’t fit the patient’s budget. This tool aims to improve patient medication adherence by showing people that they can afford their medications at their favorite pharmacy.
“We help lift up the voices of our patients by making medications more affordable and accessible,” Power said. “Our local representatives talk with their health care partners to understand what medications are being prescribed to their patients and therefore allow our team to know which popular medications to focus our deepest discounts on.”
Making the connection
Power had his first personal connection to Make-A-Wish in 2013 when a close friend’s son had his wish granted to be a professional baseball player.
“Knowing personally what their family had gone through and seeing the joy on their children’s faces as they went to bat is what Make-A-Wish is all about,” he said. It was then that Watertree Health wanted to get involved.
With nearly 200 representatives throughout the U.S. who distribute the free prescription discount cards to health care providers, Watertree Health has always been a community-focused business. Today, individuals can get a prescription discount card that benefits Make-A-Wish, which donates $1 at no cost to the cardholder every time someone saves money on a prescription.
Looking ahead
“Make-A-Wish has given our community reps and our company a greater sense of purpose,” said Power. “Many reps have embraced the mission a step further and participated in local events or become volunteer wish granters. We’ve also had our most exciting and memorable company events celebrating wish milestones through wish enhancements like Christian’s.”
Watertree Health plans to celebrate their 500th wish with Make-A-Wish in early 2020 and the organization is excited about what’s next.
“The contagious joy a wish spreads continues to ripple, and our representatives have become some of Make-A-Wish’s biggest advocates,” Power said.
Visit wish.org to learn more about how you can get involved with Make-A-Wish. You can also learn more about Watertree Health’s free prescription discount card benefitting Make-A-Wish by visiting the website watertreehealthcard.com.
