BUCYRUS / GALION / ONTARIO (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—Avita Health System announced Thursday the launch of a new Drug Repository Program at its hospitals in Bucyrus, Galion, and Ontario. The initiative expands Avita’s efforts to improve access to essential medications for patients across North Central Ohio.
The program allows individuals and organizations to donate unexpired prescription medications, which will then be redistributed at no cost to qualifying patients. Licensed pharmacists will meticulously inspect and verify all donated medications to ensure they meet Ohio State Board of Pharmacy safety requirements before dispensing.
“It is truly a solution for a number of scenarios we encounter all of the time,” said Brad Schwartz, Pharmacy Clinical Services Manager at Avita Health System.
“Typically, there is no place that these medications can be sent and the advice is to just dispose of them. The Drug Repository ensures medications can be donated and put to good use.”
This new program builds on the success of Avita’s existing Medication Access Program, launched in early 2022, which helps uninsured and underinsured patients overcome affordability barriers. That program’s team, led by pharmacists and a pharmacy technician at each hospital’s Medication Management Center, helped patients acquire over $10 million worth of medications in the last year alone, primarily for high-cost brand-name medications treating chronic conditions.
“Through our Medication Access Program, we routinely encountered patients receiving medications through drug manufacturer assistance programs that wished they could pass along their unused medications,” Schwartz added. “By leveraging our collaboration among physician practices within the health system, our team’s clinical pharmacy expertise, and relationships with our patients, we’re able to match donated medications with the people who need them most.”
In 2023, Ohio law updates allowed hospitals to operate drug repositories with broader categories of acceptable medications. Christina Barnes, Director of Pharmacy Services at Avita Health System, noted the uniqueness of Avita’s approach. “What Avita is doing is very unique by having our three hospitals engaged in this program,” Barnes said. “We can accept many more types of medications and have a wider network of services to re-dispense them; whether they are patients that are cared for by our ambulatory care pharmacists or have a demonstrated need during hospitalization. This will also be a critical service in our expanding oncology program.”
To receive donated medications, patients must be Ohio residents, referred by a medical provider to Avita’s Medication Access Program, and meet specific financial criteria, including being uninsured, underinsured, or meeting income guidelines relative to the federal poverty level. The pharmacy team will also partner with hospital-based clinical pharmacists to provide medications upon discharge to inpatients hospitalized due to unmet prescription needs.
“No one should have to choose between buying groceries or filling a prescription,” Schwartz said. “Our Medication Access Program was created to offer one way we can bridge that gap and now, with the Drug Repository, we’re taking that mission one step further by adding a new layer of access by repurposing unused medications that would otherwise go to waste.”
Those wishing to donate unused, unexpired medications can do so directly at:
- Galion Hospital Medication Management Center, 269 Portland Way S, Galion
- Avita Ontario Pharmacy, 600 Richland Mall, Ontario
- Avita Crestline Pharmacy, 385 N Seltzer St, Crestline
For information about donation criteria, visit avitahealth.org/services/medication-management/#drug-repository.
Additional information about Avita’s Medication Access Program and Drug Repository can be obtained by contacting their Medication Management Center locations: Bucyrus at 419-563-9835, Galion at 419-462-4590, or Ontario at 567-307-7919.