Albert Nava always knew he wanted to help people. While deciding whether he saw himself in a doctor’s coat or a nurse’s scrubs, he watched his grandfather’s pharmacist step in to prevent a dangerous allergic reaction. It was then that Nava understood the vital role pharmacists play.

“You don’t realize until you’re in a pharmacy how much the general public puts their trust in a pharmacist,” Nava said. “We are kind of the most accessible health care to the public. It’s showing me I can make an impact in patients’ lives.”

Nava is the designated pharmacist in charge at Curant Health El Paso, one of the largest 340B contract pharmacy providers with expertise in HIV care and 340B compliance. Curant Health, located at 1201 E. Schuster Ave., Suite 4A, works with Sunset West Health through a co-located pharmacy model and provides personalized patient care.

The nationally accredited pharmacy provides rare disease patient support, works to increase medication adherence and helps expand health care access for underserved populations.

“It gives me the purpose I was hoping for,” Nava said. “I think every day brings a new set of challenges or different situations I haven’t seen before, so it’s satisfying to help patients navigate their health care journey and to be a resource for them.”

The full-service pharmacy specializes in medication care management for complex and chronic conditions and offers services beyond those of a traditional pharmacy. Key services include patient care coordinators, custom medication packaging and free home delivery. Patient care coordinators act as personal advocates, helping patients navigate insurance and manage complex, multi-medication routines.

Born and raised in El Paso, Nava was among the first group of 40 students to complete the University of Texas at El Paso’s first full stand-alone School of Pharmacy, graduating in May 2021. The program was designed to address the shortage of Hispanic pharmacists in the Paso del Norte region and teach students about free or discounted prescription drug programs available through pharmaceutical companies, nonprofit groups and state governments.

Nava began his career at CVS Pharmacy after landing an internship with the company during college. He later worked for one of University Medical Center’s outpatient pharmacy clinics.

Through its on-site specialty pharmacy at Sunset West Health, Curant Health’s work in El Paso focuses on pharmaceutical care for polychronic conditions, including HIV, while streamlining around-the-clock pharmacist access and reducing hospital readmissions.

“Although we’re a community pharmacy, we’re categorized more as a community specialty pharmacy because we work with more complex disease states,” Nava said. “In this case, it’s HIV, PrEP, HIV prevention, things like that. We dispense higher-cost drugs here.” PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is medication used to prevent HIV.

According to the West Health-Gallup Healthcare Scorecard, Texas ranks next to last nationally for health care affordability and cost, weighed down by high out-of-pocket expenses and widespread household financial burdens.

“A lot of these patients that we serve here are uninsured,” Nava said. “One of the benefits of working as a contract pharmacy to this clinic is that the clinic provides a caseworker that looks for different programs to help cover uninsured or underinsured patients.”

Texas remains one of the few states that have not expanded Medicaid.

“In El Paso, we have a lot of uninsured people, for different reasons,” Nava said. “Some patients can’t get coverage through any state programs like Medicaid. So that right there, going back to how we can kind of be a resource for those types of patients, being a bilingual pharmacist helps out this community so much. We have some patients that don’t know any English. Removing that language barrier is huge in El Paso as we can further help patients navigate health care.”

U.S. Census Bureau figures show about 23.5% of residents under 65 lack health coverage.

“At times I feel helpless, and I feel like the only thing I can do is help the patient in front of me,” Nava said. “Whatever their situation is, I try to find avenues or resources for the patient to get their medication at a less expensive price.”

Curant Health El Paso and Sunset West Health are working to bridge gaps in health care access and affordability in the Borderland. For Nava, that work starts with the person in front of him, whether that means helping patients understand their medication, navigate insurance or find a more affordable path to care.

Through his role, Nava has found the kind of purpose he first recognized years ago with his grandfather: helping patients feel seen, supported and understood.