Month: August 2023

Originally published by Walgreens Boots Alliance

By Elyse Russo, Walgreens Stories

Retiring was not Melba Russell’s idea, but her hip had other plans. It kept bothering her, and Russell’s doctor said the only way to heal it would be to stay off her feet. At 88 years old, it probably didn’t help that her favorite thing to do at Walgreens was to help unload the trucks.

She proudly admits that she helped unload her last truck the month before she officially retired in May 2023, 67 years after she started working for the company. That makes her the longest-serving employee in Walgreens history.

Russell spent the last 25 years of her career at Walgreens store #3013, located on Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis, Tennessee. Her title at retirement was inventory specialist, but Russell worked at many stores and held various positions throughout her career. She even served as a store assistant manager in Huntsville, Alabama. Russell says it was the people that kept her coming into work each day for 67 years—customers, team members, everyone.

“I saw one of my customers at the grocery store the other day and she said, ‘Where have you been?’” Russell says through laughter. “And I said, ‘Well, I don’t work there anymore. I retired!”

Jan. 30, 1956, was Russell’s first day of employment at Walgreens. At the time, many Walgreens stores had cafeterias inside them, and her first job was taking customer orders at the cafeteria counter in a Memphis-area Walgreens. She remembers that first role fondly and especially enjoyed the crowds that came in when conventions were in the area.

“We sold slices of strawberry pie for 35 cents,” she says. She even has a photo of herself next to the sign advertising that affordable treat.Russell also says she’s liked watching—and being a part of—the company grow to its nearly 9,000 store footprint nationwide.

“There weren’t too many Walgreens when I started, but then they started this program of building 12 stores a year. And that’s when we got stores on every corner,” she says, recalling that she and her colleagues would help stock those stores’ shelves to prepare them for opening.

Working at Walgreens became a family affair when Russell’s son and daughter both applied for jobs to make extra money while attending college. Russell also has two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Married for 64 years, her husband Robert died about a decade ago.

“That’ll make you get out and work more,” Russell says. “That’s the reason I hated to give up work but there comes a time when you have to make other plans.”

And right now, Russell’s immediate plans include well-deserved rest and relaxation.

“I’m just gonna take it easy the rest of this year and see what comes next year. Hopefully a new body,” she says with a laugh.

Russell will celebrate her 89th birthday on Aug. 9, but she says the secret to longevity is no secret at all.

“Take care of yourself. Money can’t buy health,” she says.

And in taking care of herself, she took care of so many others during her 67 years at Walgreens. A special thanks to you, Melba Russell.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Gilead COMPASS Initiative®, a 10-year, more than $100 million commitment to addressing the HIV epidemic in the Southern United States.

The COMPASS (Commitment to Partnership in Addressing HIV/AIDS in the Southern United States) program was born after a 2017 tour throughout the U.S. South with people affected by HIV. Gilead determined from listening to and learning from local community leaders that to end the epidemic in the region, investments into combating HIV-related stigma, improving community access to and quality of resources, and increasing local leadership and advocacy were essential.

Since its origin, the Gilead COMPASS Initiative has worked closely with and provided funding to nearly 400 community-based organizations across 16 states in the U.S South that address these health inequities and other barriers to care. The program has trained more than 26,000 individuals in leadership development, and in total the program has reached more than 300,000 people through its programming and in-person events.

Locally Addressing Health Disparities 
Among the COMPASS grantees is Community Health PIER (CH PIER), which is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, a region grappling with high HIV prevalence and stigmatization. The organization is working to confront health disparities in the local LGBTQ+ community with a holistic approach to health and wellness, peer support and resources to support healthy choices.

“Whether you want to hear about heart health, living healthy with HIV or information about having a small garden in your backyard, you can get that all here,” says Gloria Sturdevant, co-founder of CH PIER, adding that they provide a host of individualized services for people who walk through their door.

CH PIER is one of five grantee organizations featured in a five-part video series focusing on COMPASS’s community partners. The videos highlight the impact of frontline advocates and also demonstrate Gilead’s commitment to supporting their work and trusting the local community to know what works best to serve their region.

“What’s unique about the Gilead COMPASS Initiative is that they’re not telling us what to do,” says Cedric Sturdevant, Gloria’s brother and co-founder of CH PIER. “They allow us to tell them what’s best for our community.”

Continuing Efforts in the U.S. South 
While Gloria and her colleagues continue their important work, Gilead plans to expand its support of organizations in the region. Despite progress there’s still much to do: The U.S. South makes up about one-third of the U.S. population but accounts for more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses, and Black individuals bear a disproportionate burden of the disease in the local areas.

The structure of the COMPASS Initiative highlights Gilead’s long-time commitment to addressing health inequities and working with local organizations to reach medically underserved and disproportionately impacted communities.

“The extensive reach of the Gilead COMPASS Initiative in the past five years shows what we’ve been able to achieve together, and we’re looking forward to continuing our journey of growth and collaboration during the next five years,” says Jane Stafford, Executive Director, Public Affairs at Gilead. “We’re incredibly proud of these tangible transformative impacts we’ve had on the landscape of HIV in the Southern United States – in our commitment to ending the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere.”

Originally published by Gilead Sciences