CINCINNATI, OH, Jan. 4, 2023 – St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Charitable Pharmacy has received two accolades in the 2022 Free Clinic Awards, the annual awards program of the Charitable Healthcare Network and the Ohio Department of Health.

Pharmacist of the Year

Katie Owens, PharmD, BCACP, has been honored as Ohio’s Free Clinic Pharmacist of the Year. Owens currently manages all operations for the Charitable Pharmacy’s satellite location inside SVDP’s Western Hills thrift store. In her seven years of service, she has led a team that has dispensed over 40,000 prescriptions for free to nearly 4,500 Cincinnatians in need.

“Many people are healthier because of Katie, and some are alive because of her,” says Rusty Curington, Director of Pharmacy for SVDP. “She is consistently kind, compassionate and diligent. Patients seek out Katie because they know she truly cares and wants to build a lasting relationship with them.”

As a clinical pharmacist, Owens works closely with patients to manage chronic medical conditions, with a specific focus in diabetes management and tobacco cessation. Notably, Owens has led SVDP’s Tobacco Cessation Program, achieving cessation rates that double the national average. Through face-to-face meetings, biweekly phone calls and weekly text messages, Owens and her team build personal relationships with patients, helping over 100 people annually seeking to become smoke-free.

Owens’ career at St. Vincent de Paul began as a volunteer pharmacist in 2015. “Even as a volunteer, she became an invaluable member of the Charitable Pharmacy staff,” says Curington. “Katie’s work ensures neighbors in need have access to insulin and inhalers, and the processes she designed will ensure even more people have medication access in 2023.”

Owens, a Springfield Township resident, received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of Toledo and her ambulatory care residency training from The Toledo and Flower Hospitals/WW Knight Family Practice.

Community Partner of the Year

KeySource and its partnership with the SVDP Charitable Pharmacy has been named Free Clinic Partner of the Year.

A wholesale pharmaceutical supplier with headquarters in Cincinnati and offices in New York and Florida, KeySource has been a generous partner of SVDP Charitable Pharmacy since 2007. It provides SVDP monthly credits that can be used for any medications in its inventory. As partners more commonly donate excess medications, this innovative partnership allows the Charitable Pharmacy, and ultimately the needs of its patients, to determine which medications it receives.

“The Charitable Pharmacy has no other partner that influences its operations and outcomes to the extent of KeySource,” says Curington. “Its impact on the Charitable Pharmacy and the community it serves has been transformational and life-saving.”

In 2022, SVDP Charitable Pharmacy filled its 700,000^th prescription and attributes its partnership with KeySource as a key reason for its ability to reach this extraordinary milestone.

ABOUT ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CHARITABLE PHARMACY

St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) Charitable Pharmacy is the only stand-alone pharmacy in southwest Ohio dedicated to the unique mission of providing free pharmaceutical care to people in need who have no other way to access their prescription medications. The Charitable Pharmacy is committed to helping its patients achieve positive health outcomes that lead to improved quality of life while also lowering healthcare costs to care for the underserved across the community. Since opening in 2006, the Charitable Pharmacy has dispensed over 717,000 free prescriptions, with a value exceeding $100 million. For more information about SVDP Charitable Pharmacy, visit https://www.svdpcincinnati.org/pharmacy/.

ABOUT ST. VINCENT DE PAUL – CINCINNATI

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been providing innovative, practical emergency assistance to Greater Cincinnati residents in need for over 150 years. The organization works personally with those in need to bridge the spiritual, emotional and material gaps in their lives through home visits provided by neighborhood-based volunteer groups, and groundbreaking initiatives like the Charitable Pharmacy as well as a network of 13 food pantries and eight thrift stores and donation centers across Cincinnati. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Cincinnati is a network of neighbors, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need. For more information, visit SVDPcincinnati.org.