MILFORD, Ohio — Patients who struggle to pay for prescription medications now have a new lifeline.
Dr. Rusty Curington, vice president of pharmacy for St. Vincent de Paul, showed us the third St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy location, which opened Wednesday.
The charitable pharmacy provides free medication to those who are uninsured or underinsured.
The new location at 813 Main Street in Milford is positioned to serve more than just those in Clermont County.
“We hope this will expand access to not only Clermont County but also to Brown, Adams, Clinton, Highland, just making sure there is a charitable pharmacy in your neighborhood,” Curington said.
Curington said he has a personal connection to the new location.
“I was born and raised here in Clermont County, so it’s a passion of mine to see my neighbors that I grew up with be able to have access to free medications,” he said.
Curington said since opening the first location in downtown Cincinnati in 2006, the pharmacy has provided 825,000 free prescriptions worth more than $120 million.
He explained the critical need they fill.
“We see this all the time where people can’t afford their medicines and so maybe they’ll take it every other day, maybe they take a half a dose,” Curington said. “They find ways to stretch their medications out based on what they can afford but it’s very dangerous."
Among the donors and other supporters at Wednesday's ribbon cutting, was the city of Milford's Mayor, Lisa Evans. She's also the President of the St. Andrew Conference of St. Vincent de Paul and right now, the group pays for some Milford residents prescriptions when they can't afford it.
"It'll help stretch our dollars further. So money that we were maybe paying out with medications, now we can help pay electric or rent or other things," she said.
The pharmacy relies heavily on volunteers and donations, both monetary and of unopened prescriptions.
Curington said you can donate unused medications from yourself or loved ones.
“Specifically insulin, inhalers, blood thinners,” Curington said. “Those are medications that are life-saving and critically needed."
Learn more about all three charitable pharmacy locations or call 513-349-4995 to see if you are eligible for assistance.
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