'It's a hidden gem.' Beacon Charitable Pharmacy's new director working to raise profile
CANTON − Latrice Snodgrass, the new executive director of the Beacon Charitable Pharmacy, says one of her main goals is to make more people aware of the place she calls "a hidden gem."
The nonprofit, which started in 2002 as the Prescription Assistance Network, specializes in providing prescriptions and other medical services to underserved and uninsured clients.
"What sets us apart is we're a charitable licensed pharmacy that serves people living at 250% or better below the federal poverty guidelines," Snodgrass said. "The majority of them reside in Stark or Carroll counties. We also serve some patients in Lorain and some that are in Summit County."
At the end of the month, Beacon will move from the Goodwill Community Campus to 2525 13th St. NW, a former medical building gifted by Cleveland Clinic Mercy Medical Center.
Snodgrass said the nonprofit surveyed patients who said they prefer the new location, which is on the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority bus line. The new site also will enable the agency to expand its operating hours.
"There's this belief that underserved people can come at any time, but 30% of our patients are the working poor," she noted.
What is a charitable pharmacy?
Licensed by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, Beacon is the only nonprofit pharmacy in Northeast Ohio, and one of just three in in the state. The others are in Cincinnati and Columbus.
Prior to joining Beacon Charitable Pharmacy, Snodgrass worked as senior director of the Children's Health Collaborative at Akron Children's Hospital.
"I was born and raised in Canton. I'm a (1991) graduate of Timken Senior High School," she said. "When this opportunity became available, I realized the huge gap there is with pharmaceutical access. The inequities in health care have always been near and dear to my heart because folks are dying from preventable health reasons, and pharmaceuticals are one of them.
"I've talked to people in my church and community, and folks are skipping pills or cutting pills in half because they can't afford them. It was an opportunity to come back to my hometown to serve in a capacity that was greatly needed, and Beacon is a hidden gem."
How does the Beacon Charitable Pharmacy work?
Though the pharmacy has been open for 22 years, many still aren't aware of it, Snodgrass said.
"We do not bill insurances," she said. "If you can't access your benefits or you don't have benefits, we can help you."
The fee scale for uninsured persons is $2 for one prescription, $4 for two medications, or $5 for three or more.
"We have folks that are on maybe 10 medications a month; all they pay us is $5," Snodgrass said. "People who are underinsured pay $5 for one (prescription), $10 for two, $15 for three, and once they hit four, they pay $20, and that's for four or 54. If they tell us they can't afford it, we give it to them."
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In 2022, the pharmacy served 2,300 patients and dispensed 25,000 prescriptions.
The majority of Beacon's medications come from the Ohio Board of Pharmacy's Drug Repository program, which receives donations from inpatient nursing facilities, and some from individuals thanks to a new state law that permits such donations.
"We do not dispense expired medications," Snodgrass said. "We are held accountable to the rules and regulations of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy."
Councilwoman Christine Smith, D-4, who serves on the pharmacy's board of directors, said Snodgrass is the perfect person for the job.
"I have traveled with her through her life as she acquired education and knowledge, and this job fits her because she's always been willing to help someone, even if they can't help themselves," she said.
Snodgrass said 97% of Beacon's funding comes in the form of grants from the Sisters of Charity, Stark Community, Massillon and Austin Bailey foundations, and the United Way.
It also receives some funds from local city and county government agencies, she said.
"We do have one grant from the CDC, which focuses on COVID," she said. "We also recently were awarded ($176,000) from the Community Development Block Grant for Healthy Aging."
The remainder of funds comes from patients who pay for their medications, and individual donors and organizations.
'There are so many more people that need our services.'
"One of my top three goals this year is to expand our reach," Snodgrass said. "There are so many more people that need our services. I'm really working hard on trying to build partnerships and collaborations."
Her other goals, she said, include financial sustainability and forming good partnerships with other nonprofits in a community which has a wealth of charitable organizations.
Under Snodgrass, the pharmacy successfully conducted a $1 million capital improvements campaign for renovations at its new building. Beacon also has purchased a sprinter van which Snodgrass calls "POW," or Pharmacy On Wheels, making the nonprofit pharmacy portable.
Snodgrass said Beacon will be doing prescription deliveries because one of the major barriers in accessing health care is transportation.
"We're also going to be forming partnerships with, for example, the Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority to go out to their senior housing units with our 'Pharm D,' which is a doctorate-level pharmacist, who will do education programs, medical screenings, and digital literacy programs with folks, just to have a presence in those areas," she said.
Other plans include connecting with other medical providers to help drive healthy outcomes.
Satellite location opened in Alliance, with a Massillon and another Canton site proposed
Beacon Charitable Pharmacy opened a satellite office in Alliance in collaboration with the University of Mount Union last year. Snodgrass said it is also working with Massillon Municipal Court Judge Edward Elum to secure space for a satellite in that city.
Smith said she's approached the Rev. Don Ackerman, director of Canton for All People, about the possibility of a Beacon Pharmacy satellite at My Community Health Center’s new clinic at the Southeast Market Plaza at 1318 Gonder Ave. SE.
"We've got some space in there," she said. "What an awesome thing that would be. A resident could walk to a doctor, then walk a few steps to get their prescription. Don Ackerman said he likes the idea, so hopefully we can get that space. We just hope people will continue to support it so we can do it."
Snodgrass said she's working with the Northeast Ohio Medical University in Portage County to revive the pharmacy's residency program, as well as medical-student rotations in 2025.
Volunteers also are needed to help sort medications. No medical experience is necessary.
"I think it's critical that we have folks who work in these spaces to work with the underserved, to build that compassion, that awareness that not everyone has the same privileges," she said. "Our folks who come through here are at a different place in life."
Snodgrass said it's important that Beacon Charitable Pharmacy stays true to its mission.
"I grew up in housing projects and on public assistance, and there was a time I was in these spaces and wasn't always treated with that level of compassion," she said. "So, being able to be here and serving folks and creating a space where you're able to get what you need with some dignity, that's what I love about being here."
Beacon Charitable Pharmacy will have its annual gala on March 21 at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel at 320 Market Ave. S. To learn more about the pharmacy or the gala, call 330-445-1087, or visit https://beaconpharmacy.org.
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com.
On Twitter: @cgoshayREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Beacon Charitable Pharmacy's Latrice Snodgrass raising its profile
