“I believe we all deserve a right to be healthy. Every day we see patients who are desperate for a hand up, who have a deep desire to be healthy, but they can’t afford their medicines as a tool to get there. 

When patients arrive at Charitable Pharmacy, and qualify, we agree to journey with them for at least 12 months. Our pharmacists and our graduate interns take time with patients to help them understand how to use their medicines. 

If we get someone on the right medicines and they are taking them well, we have a high likelihood of achieving better health outcomes, which at some point could mean less medicine. And a healthy individual is able to go to work, support their family, and contribute to their neighborhood. That’s a virtuous cycle!

We have one patient with diabetes who has been with us for a number of years. She came here when she had a wake-up call after losing one of her good friends way too early to diabetes. Her friend couldn’t afford their insulin and was going without. This patient was also struggling to pay for her medicine, so she came to us. 

Of course, she gets her medicine for free with us, but with our education and coaching she’s now thriving! Her blood sugar is under control, and she’s been set up with a continuous blood glucose monitor. Now, she’s able to check her device and see her blood sugar in real time, which has been empowering for her. She has learned how to manage her disease and is in charge of her own health. 

There’s a defeatedness that comes with not being able to afford your medicine, and it takes a lot of courage to raise your hand and ask for help. But it’s a yearning to be healthy that brings people to us. We are a beacon of hope for these folks and on the other side of it, we experience such deep gratitude for this work.

But the reductions in federal funding are affecting our partners across our community. While I provide medicine, our patients also need to visit their doctor. They need to be able to afford housing and utilities. They need access to healthy and nutritious food. All of those pieces have to come together, and when I see the system fraying, it makes treating chronic disease that much harder. For us to collectively achieve greater health, we need all aspects of that ecosystem to be functioning well.” 

– Taylor Reed, PharmD, is a pharmacist and the Executive Director of the Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio, which provides pharmacy services and medication management to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured residents of Franklin County—completely free of charge.