As a child, Myrna was diagnosed with Polio and as an adult she has been diagnosed with several different kinds of cancer. Because of her experiences as a patient, she knows first hand how a caring doctor and a positive attitude can make a tremendous difference in the life of a sick patient. Robinson began working in the Judeo Christian Health Clinic pharmacy with no previous pharmacy experience. There was an unmet need for a volunteer to help patients apply for Patient Assistance Programs (PAP's) offered through prescription drug programs, like Johnson & Johnson, Merck, etc and Myrna stepped up to fill this role. The PAP programs offer free brand name medications to patients who meet certain financial eligibility requirements. Robinson helps patients by identifying which programs they may be eligible for, providing the appropriate applications, assisting patients with completing the applications, and completing the applications with the appropriate signatures and prescriptions needed for success.
Myrna has such compassion for those who are under served and who do not have access to health care. Last year the Judeo Christian Health Clinic was able to dispense 2.3 million dollars worth of medications to the Tampa Bay Community completely free of charge due to her efforts. She has assisted tens of thousands of patients in the time that she has volunteered for the Clinic. Myrna has been known to deliver medications to patients homes, who had difficulty with transportation and could not get to the Clinic. She has a given gift cards anonymously to families who can't afford to buy a Thanksgiving Dinner, or toys for Christmas. If there are supplies donated to the Clinic that can not be used, she will take them to another organization that can use them.
Myrna Robinson becomes the 361st Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the Lightning Community Hero program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through this evening's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $18.05 million to more than 400 different nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2016, the Vinik's announced that the community hero program will give away another $10-million over the next five seasons.
