Cesar Cisneros works part-time and earns enough money to cover his rent in Eatontown. He appreciates any savings, so when he visits the pharmacist to buy insulin and blood pressure medicine, the price is right.
It costs him nothing.
“This is great,” Cisneros said last week.
Cisneros is one of nearly 250 customers serving Red Bank’s Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy as it celebrates its first anniversary this week. In its first year, the pharmacy dispensed 2,300 of his prescriptions, including 238 of his medicines, for a total of about 180,000, as founder Shah reported to his advisory board members in late March. was a dollar. More than half of that was insulin (worth $95,000) and diabetes-related drugs (plus him worth $20,000). All medicines were distributed free of charge to eligible patients.
“We wanted to make a difference,” Shah said. “There’s so much demand right now. This was an eye opener for me. New Jersey needs more of this.”
The pharmacy also hosts vaccination clinics and health education classes.
Freehold School Superintendent and Advisory Board Member Joseph Howe said: “It really became a public health center.”
Shah, 49, of Freehold Township, owns several pharmacies throughout Monmouth County. His wife, Asha Shah, is the pharmacist in charge of the Charitable Branch at 224 Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank.
It’s a family business and has low overhead as Shahs owns the premises and leverages his network of contacts in the field to find the best deals for medicines to distribute. But they are looking to hire part-time pharmacists to keep up with demand.
“We prescribe close to 120 medications each month to our regular patients, including diabetes medications, heart medications and blood pressure medications,” says Ritesh Shah. “We knew what we were going to do, but it’s very necessary.”
Anyone with an income within three times the federal poverty level is eligible for pharmacy services. Customers can obtain certification for services through federally accredited medical clinics. If you don’t know how to do that, the King will guide you through the paperwork.
What was your biggest achievement from the first year?
“We really need to scale up,” Howe said.
To that end, a fundraising event is scheduled for June 30th at 618 Restaurant in Freehold Township.
Ritesh Shah said he believes the model is sustainable. He has responded to inquiries from others interested in opening branches elsewhere in the state.
“Whatever God tells me, I want to do it,” he said.
Located at 224 Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank, the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 11am to 4pm and Friday from 10am to 3pm. For more information, please visit: rscharitypharmacy.org.
Jerry Carino is a community columnist for Asbury Park Press, focusing on the interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues of the Jersey Shore. Please contact [email protected].
