Impact 100 Nonprofit Spotlight

Walnut Hills Man Nearly Died When He Couldn’t Afford His Heart Transplant Medications

Here’s How St. Vincent de Paul’s Charitable Pharmacy Saved Him

Kevin R. Anderson could tell by the worried looks on the faces of his relatives and cardiac specialists in The Christ Hospital Emergency Department in December 2022 that the news about his transplanted heart was not good.

“I saw the fear in their eyes, and I felt that fear in my own heart,” recalls the 68-year-old Walnut Hills resident, a retiree whose career spanned physically and intellectually demanding jobs, including plumber, construction engineer, surveyor, heavy equipment operator and building maintenance specialist. 

“I was hearing them say that I might not be able to survive the next 10 to 15 minutes, and that’s when I learned that my symptoms were from a lack of taking my regular transplant medications.”

That’s also the moment Anderson’s life turned around: The Christ Hospital physicians referred him to St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Charitable Pharmacy, home of the Impact 100 Dispensary on Bank Street in Cincinnati’s West End, a 2019 recipient of an Impact 100 three-year, $109,000 grant.

Today, the pharmacy continues to play a life-saving role in Anderson’s life and the lives of  hundreds of Southwestern Ohio patients each year, says Dr. Rusty Curington, Vice President of Pharmacy.

“This is like a typical retail pharmacy,” Curington points out. “It just doesn’t have cash registers.”

Open since 2006, SVDP Charitable Pharmacies are the only source of free prescription medicines for eligible patients throughout eight Southwest Ohio counties. The Impact 100 grant funded key projects: construction of new spaces to house the pharmacy’s operations and more storage capacity, addition of more pharmacists and support staff, and increased hours of operation, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A New Heart…Then the Pandemic
Anderson credits the pharmacy with saving his life, and its free services have enabled him to continue enjoying his eight surviving children “and lots of grandkids and great grandkids.”

His health challenges are not unique to the pharmacy’s patients and patrons.

After a successful August 2019 heart transplant at the University of Kentucky Transplant Center, Anderson took his anti-rejection medications regularly. From 2020-2022, however, his healthcare benefits were cut, and his insurance premiums and out-of-pocket drug costs rose. 

Eventually, he no longer could afford “the most important medicines in my life.” The longer he went without his anti-rejection drugs, the more confused and ill he became, sending him to The Christ Hospital’s ER and a referral to the SVDP’s Don & Phyllis Neyer Outreach Center.

“I don’t know what I’d do without the Charitable Pharmacy,” says a very grateful Anderson. “Since I started going to the Impact 100 Dispensary, I’ve had no more problems. They work with my doctors at The Christ Hospital to make sure my medications are refilled. Sometimes, I even stop by the SVDP Food Pantry when I’m here. If I didn’t have them on my side, I might not be here.”

Like Anderson, all eligible patients pick up prescribed medications monthly, free of charge. Every six months, they meet with SVDP’s clinical pharmacy team to make sure they’re taking their medications correctly and to explore other avenues to maintain and improve their health: food plans, exercise, hydration reminders, tobacco cessation, stress management, insurance navigation support, telehealth and other health-promoting activities.

“If we can teach our patients to eat right, exercise, quit smoking and take charge of their health, maybe we can get them off some of their medications,” Curington says. 

Significant Community Impact

Throughout the three-year grant period, the pharmacy filled 214,104 prescriptions, valued at $33.7 million, and provided about $13.2 million in equivalent healthcare to deserving uninsured and underinsured clients — while simultaneously relieving financial burdens on the area’s healthcare providers. 

The Impact 100 grant also supported construction of the new Impact 100 Dispensary, which now serves, on average, more than 900 patients a month with comprehensive services. 

In FY2022 alone, SVDP Charitable Pharmacy supported in part by Impact 100, provided: 

  • 70,856 prescriptions dispensed to 1,400 unique patients
  • 86% of medications dispensed from donated sources, such as drug wholesalers, doctors’ office samples, drug manufacturers, long-term care pharmacies, and international safety-net organizations
  • $3.9 million in costs avoided to local healthcare systems, hospitals and emergency rooms by providing free clinical pharmacy and health education services
  • Diabetes self-management education program, with 59% of established patients and 82% of new patients achieving improved control of their diabetes within six months 
  • Tobacco cessation program, in which 35% of patients who completed the program quit using tobacco products
  • Screening and support services for food, vision and primary care, housing and utilities

“Truly, without the Impact 100 Dispensary, the Charitable Pharmacy could not have provided uninterrupted care throughout the pandemic,” Curington emphasizes. “The Impact 100 Dispensary nearly tripled the size of the Charitable Pharmacy at just the right time. 

“We are incredibly grateful to Impact 100 for their support and belief in our approach to accessible healthcare,” he says. “Because of the organization’s generosity, our neighbors in need are receiving the medications and healthcare they truly deserve.”