FLORENCE, Ky. – The high cost of health care is a concern for many, but some Northern Kentucky residents don’t have to worry about prescription medication costs because of Faith Community Pharmacy. The non-profit provides the medications at no charge to qualifying residents, with and without insurance.

“It's really hard to make ends meet,” said Executive Director, Jill Hilgefort. “And then there's very little left for medications. Medication is a necessity, it's not a luxury anymore,” she added.

From cardiovascular disease to mental health, the charitable pharmacy offers a range of prescriptions. The non-profit is catholic, faith-based in nature, so the pharmacy doesn’t offer medicines not in line with their faith, such as contraceptives. It’s also prohibited by law from dispensing any controlled medications or narcotics. However, there is a great need for what the pharmacy does provide, especially since the majority of clients are senior citizens.

“If you’re in that age bracket, our average client now takes about nine meds a month,” Hilgefort said.

With a physician’s referral, the non-profit helps anyone, within in the Northern Kentucky counties it serves, with a total household income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The charitable pharmacy also aims to provide more than free prescriptions.

“We’re hoping these patients are remaining out of the hospital and out of the emergency room, which is going to drive down overall health care cost,” Pharmacy Director Christina Schreiner Spille told Spectrum News 1. “Then, also making sure that these patients are healthy enough to remain employed and not become unemployed, as well,” Schreiner Spille added.

Medications are donated through health care provider partners or purchased with fundraised money. Faith Community Pharmacy said they will provide approximately 30,000 prescriptions to 800 clients in 2019. The charitable pharmacy serves the following Kentucky counties: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Kenton, Lewis, Mason, Owen, Pendleton, and Robertson. For more details, visit their website.