CINCINNATI — St. Vincent De Paul could soon be able to help more people who can't afford their prescriptions. The Charitable Pharmacy will start accepting some medication donations from individuals in June.
Previously, under Ohio law, the organization could only accept donations from nursing homes and other similar healthcare facilities.
"We still have many, many empty buckets that really need meds in them. Eliquis, like our blood thinners, we really need to be filling these up," said Dr. Rusty Curington, director of pharmacy for St. Vincent De Paul.
Curington said demand for these kinds of medications has grown over the last few years.
"Every day, I get five to 10 calls of people saying, 'Can I donate my medications to you?' and every day I have to turn them down because Ohio law doesn't permit that," Curington said.
St. Vincent De Paul worked with lawmakers to change that. Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 558 into law earlier this year.
To start out, the nonprofit will be accepting donations of insulin, inhalers and blood thinners. Individuals who have these medications but aren't using them will be able to bring them to the pharmacy window at the St. Vincent De Paul locations in the West End and in Western Hills.
There are steps in place to ensure the medication hasn't been tampered with and is safe for use. The individual donating the medication will meet with a pharmacist and sign a form.
"It will undergo a pharmacist inspection of the medications to make sure no tampering, no other issues with the medication itself," Curington said.
Gigi Llaque-Warren knows firsthand the impact the charitable pharmacy has. She moved to the United States from Peru in search of better medical care for her son, Luis. He has severe asthma.
"In the beginning, he was doing great until he had side effects with one medication," Llaque-Warren said.
A different medication was expensive, costing about $350.
"I was desperate, I felt panic in the moment," she said.
The staff at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center recommended that she call St. Vincent De Paul.
Llaque-Warren said the help she got from the Charitable Pharmacy was lifesaving for her son.
"My soul returned to my body and said, Luis is not going to have an asthma attack," she said.
It inspired her to apply for a job at the nonprofit as a social services advocate.
The Charitable Pharmacy is also working to open a third location in Milford next year.
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