Rising Suns Non-Profit Pharmacy is now moving to a new location in Grosvenor Hall, room 078. With the new location, the pharmacy hopes to expand its services to more residents in Athens.
The non-profit pharmacy’s mission is to ensure all residents, including underinsured and uninsured, in Southeast Ohio have access to safe and affective medications. Since its opening, the pharmacy has only been dispensing medication and other related operations.
Sarah Adkins, interim executive director for Rising Suns, was born and raised in Athens. She moved away for pharmacy school, but she moved back to Athens after graduating with her doctorate degree in pharmacy from Ohio State University.
She began working with underinsured and uninsured patients of Southeast Ohio at Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her work inspired her to create a free pharmacy in the area, and named the organization after her two deceased sons, Solomon and Samson Geller.
“Our vision is to provide high quality pharmacy services that optimize the health and well-being of all members of the Southeastern Ohio community,” Adkins said.
While developing the pharmacy, Adkins said she was advised to make the pharmacy a business to bring in profit. However, Adkins’ goal is not to compete with surrounding pharmacies, but rather provide medications for residents who are not able to pay.
Adkins said around 50 patients in the area have utilized the pharmacy’s services and a bigger location was essential in order to store more medications. The Grosvenor Hall location will open in late March or early April.
In addition to dispensing medications and helping residents through insurance processes, Rising Suns has implemented a mobile unit to deliver medications for those who cannot come to the pharmacy.
“One of the barriers to care for our patients in Southeast Ohio is that they have really poor transportation,” Adkins said. “We have only six operation pharmacies in the county of Athens. It’s pretty fantastic that we’re going to be able to drive around Southeast Ohio for medication delivery.”
Over the years, organizations such as Athens County Foundation and Sisters Health Foundation have supported the pharmacy through grants.
The pharmacy is able to receive medications through Dispensary of Hope in Nashville, Tenn. The dispensary received medications at a discounted or free price. Adkins then is able to order medications off of their site through a membership paid for by the Sister Health Foundation. The Sisters Health Foundation’s mission is to support nonprofits in the area that are working to support the health and wellness of its residents.
Renee Steffen, executive director of the Sisters Health Foundation, said the partnership between the foundation and Rising Suns has been a great experience and emphasized the pharmacy’s creativity to help residents in need.
“I’ve just been really impressed with their passion and energy for making this a reality in the region, and it’s really amazing to see their work in action,” Steffen said. “It was a great match for us to provide funding for Rising Suns.”
Another partnership that Rising Suns has created is with the Athens County Foundation. The foundation’s focus is to improve the quality of life for Athens County residents. Each year, the foundation awards over $500,000 in grants to community organizations with a focus on economic vitality, health and well-being and vibrant communities.
Kerry Pigman, the executive director of the Athens County Foundation, said the foundation participated in developing the idea and business model for the pharmacy. Athens County Foundation has also continued to support the pharmacy in other grants for technology support and storage of medication, in addition to supporting the initial launch in 2020.
Pigman emphasized how grateful the foundation is to have the pharmacy available because of how many Athens County residents that do not have access to prescription medication.
“When we’re looking at the whole picture of health and well-being, prescription medication for treatment of chronic disease and preventative care is an important piece that was identified as a gap in our existing system,” Pigman said. “We’re grateful for Sarah Adkins and the work of the Rising Suns board that they’ve put together to try and fill that gap.”
Adkins said she is grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many organizations, as well as residents of Athens. Being an Athens native, Adkins also emphasized that her background heavily contributes to her work with Rising Suns.
“I honestly think, for me, that it has truly been the greatest asset for me to start this,” Adkins said. “If you are kind and respectful, people will be kind and respectful back to you. Life is really, really hard, and the least I can do for somebody is to help them navigate healthcare right now.”
