NJ’s First Charitable Pharmacy Will Open In Red Bank

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When the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy opens in April on Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank, those earning less than about $40,000 annually will be able to get certain prescription medications for free. Photo by Elizabeth Wulfhorst

By Allison Perrine

RED BANK – Looking to give back to the community and support those experiencing financial struggles, a Monmouth County resident will open the first charitable pharmacy in New Jersey this April.

Located at 224 Shrewsbury Ave. in Red Bank, the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy will offer certain medications free-of-charge to those living within 300 percent of the federal poverty level, about $40,000 annually. It’s a project that founder Ritesh Shah, R.Ph., is passionate about – and one that he and his wife Asha will self-fund.

“Whether it’s rich people’s souls or poor people’s souls, life is life,” explained Shah in a call with The Two River Times this week. “For years I assisted patients at my local pharmacies who could not afford their medications… It is now my pleasure to help guarantee that those in need will have blood pressure, diabetes and other medications free-of-charge to help control and prevent chronic diseases.”

Born and raised in India, Shah immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1990s and moved to Freehold Township where he resides with Asha, who is also a pharmacist, and their two children. He began his career as a chain pharmacist supervisor in 2002 when he opened his first drugstore in Holmdel and later in Howell, Keansburg, Marlboro and Somerset.

Later, in 2019, Shah became the CEO of Legacy Pharmacy Group where he manages 580-plus pharmacies.

“My life changed. I was a community pharmacist andnowinthecorporate world,” he said.

And the changes only amplified with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when his “role as a pharmacist and oath to practice and save mankind” was put to the test. He recalled a night in 2020 when he hosted a Zoom call with his 100-plus pharmacists and stressed that the world was at war with an “invisible enemy.”

“In a few months, we did so many COVID tests, Gov. Murphy reached out to me and thanked me for doing this for New Jersey,” said Shah. “We learned from this COVID that so many young people died – so many customers that I know… died. It was painful.”

Devastatingly, one of those people included his 43-year-old sister. Her death became part of his motivation to launch Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy.

“It came as an arrow on my chest,” he said with emotion. “It became, ‘How do we make an impact and how do we make life more meaningful?’ ”

While running ideas by Asha, she offered to work at the drugstore they owned at 224 Shrewsbury Ave. without pay, saving that money to buy medicine out-of-pocket to give to those in need.

Together they created a formula through which their pharmacy could give patients in need of medicine for diabetes, heart complications, mental illness and more those prescription for free. The pharmacy is open to anyone in New Jersey, but is primarily for patients in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties who use federally qualified health centers (FQHC), community-based health care providers that receive funds from the Health Resources & Services Administration Health Center Program to provide primary care services in underserved areas. Shah expects patients to also come from clinics like Parker Family Health Center, across the street from the pharmacy, which serves the West Side community.

To participate, customers must earn within 300 percent of the federal poverty level – for 2022, that number is $13,590 for one person – and must prove so by presenting proper documentation. “We are going to make sure this is going for the right people,” Shah said. “We will do our vetting process.”

The pharmacy received the state’s stamp of approval Feb. 23 through the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy.

“So many patients get the prescription but they never hit the pharmacy… and those patients are suffering,” said Shah. “There’s so many times patients come to my drug store and they say, ‘I don’t have $60, I only have $54 – can you not give me one month’s supply? Give me 25 day’s supply.’ And it bothers you. Now that means they’re getting medicine for 25 days, not 30 days,” he said. “It’s just over whelming,” Shah said.

Shah is not alone in that thought. Others who have learned about the new pharmacy have donated their time and supplies to support the cause, including one Chicago-based company that donated thousands of prescription labels for the pharmacy.

Some drug manufacturers may donate medications through a wholesaler hub, but for now, the Shahs will be covering most of the costs for medications. “Mostly we’ll buy it,” he said.

When asked why, in 2022, some vital medications are highly expensive or not accessible for people of lower income levels, Shah did not have an answer. Instead, he said he is focusing on what he, personally, can do to help – and that star ts with the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy.

“Every day I think about my incredible sister and how she was taken from us, and I will do everything I can to prevent that from happening to someone else in our community,” said Shah. “When you have a good cause and when God is with you, you’ll find a way to help others.”

This article originally appeared in the March 3-9, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.