OUR FOUNDERS

Sylester Flowers, R. Ph.
Founder

Sylester Flowers lives by the belief that if you treat people fairly and with respect, they will reciprocate. For over 40 years, Flowers ran his businesses in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods and helped people thrive. He has made a career of serving the underserved.

A 1958 Howard University graduate, Flowers moved to California after serving in the military. He worked as a pharmacist at St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco from 1961 to 1963. Flowers spent months planning, securing licenses and establishing credit to make his dream of starting his own business a reality.

In 1964, Syl opened the first of what became a chain of pharmacies in working-class neighborhoods. Within a few years, Flowers' endeavor was profitable. On the advice of an accountant friend, he founded Ramsell Corporation as a holding company for his successful pharmacies in 1967.

During the early 1970s, Flowers worked as an independent contractor with the Department of Mental Health providing methadone treatment services with the Westside Community Health Center in San Francisco's impoverished Western Addition neighborhood.

For the next 14 years, he and his company provided pharmaceutical services and managed the program's document processing for the County, state and federal government. At the same time, Flowers taught courses at the School of Pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1982, Flowers secured an additional contract to manage outpatient prescription services for the City of San Francisco.

With an established reputation as a leader in the field, San Francisco County invited Flowers and Ramsell to manage its AIDS Drugs Assistance Program (ADAP) in 1992. Flowers built on this success and secured a contract with the State of California to consolidate all county programs throughout the State. In 2001, Ramsell took on similar responsibilities for the state of Washington. Recently, Ramsell has branched out into prescription benefits management and related businesses in Colorado and Texas.

Eric A. Flowers, M.B.A
CEO , Ramsell Holding Corporation, Co-Founder, FHF

Eric Flowers is a passionate advocate of community health issues and holds a long history of helping others. While earning his B.S. degree at University of California at Berkeley, he counseled and tutored at The Best Resort, a group home for boys.

Flowers' commitment to improving lives continues today through his involvement with the Haight Ashbury Free Clinics. In 2001, he joined the Clinics' board of directors. In this role, he works on a variety of committees addressing finance, audit, governance and programs. In 2005, he was named Chairman.

Eric joined Ramsell in 1994. He moved up the ranks quickly, playing a crucial role in transforming the Company into a leader in ADAP services. Starting as a Vice President, Flowers developed and managed the Enrollment & Eligibility Network for the ADAP programs in San Francisco, Santa Barbara and San Mateo counties. He was promoted to CFO in 1996 and played a pivotal role in securing ADAP contracts with California and Washington.

In 2002, he assumed the role of President/COO and oversaw the work with California and Washington, managed the day-to-day operations, strategic planning, and implemented corporate initiatives.

Mr. Flowers earned an M.B.A from Saint Mary's College of California in 2004. Additionally, he served as Chief Privacy Officer, working closely with the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that patient privacy is strictly maintained. Public Health Rx, as a result of Flowers' on-going efforts, remains HIPAA compliant in all of its contracted duties.

On January 6, 2008, the torch was passed to Eric from his father, Syl. He is now the Chief Executive Officer of Ramsell Holding Corporation and Co-Founder of the Foundation.