Every year, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy of North Texas helps thousands of Texans by providing the medications they need but can’t afford.
The Dallas-area pharmacy focuses on helping uninsured Texans whose income is below 300% of the federal poverty line — about $96,450 for a family of four. Its clients include working families, as well as disabled and unhoused residents, who often rely on hospital emergency departments because they can’t afford medications, says pharmacy director Carlos Irula.
“There’s a ton of these types of stories,” he says as he recalls an unhoused client who couldn’t manage his Type 1 diabetes because he didn’t have access to the refrigerated insulin he required. “The last insulin pen he had in his hand was not even cold.”
The pharmacy relies on donations, including a $25,000 Blue Impact℠ grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. During 2024, the pharmacy’s goal was to provide 125,000 prescriptions to 6,600 unique clients.
Prescriptions — primarily for medications to treat diabetes, heart disease and mental health conditions — are filled by pharmacy staff and volunteers using a high-speed robot, which receives digital medication orders, counts the pills and fills bottles. Each medication is labeled in the client’s preferred language and comes with a scannable QR code to access dosage directions and watch educational videos.
The state-licensed pharmacy employs seven people, including advocates who verify and approve patient applications. While about 80% of the medications are sent to residents in more than 70 Texas communities, the pharmacy serves a small percentage of in-person clients.
With continuous prescription access, pharmacy patients are achieving medication adherences rates around 90%, which helps clients avoid emergency room visits and hospital stays.
Since 2018, the Dallas pharmacy has filled an estimated 375,000 prescriptions for more than 8,000 people in Texas. The medications, worth almost $109 million at average wholesale price, are filled and delivered at no cost to the patients who need them.
Nearly 14% of the state’s population lives in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Close to 4.5 million Texans, including 623,000 children, are uninsured, the Texas Medical Association says.
“The value of this pharmacy is the impact it has on an individual and the impact that is has on a family,” Irula says. “We’re talking about parents, grandparents and children. Our youngest patient is a 6-year-old. Our oldest patient is 93. We’re trying to help as many people as possible.”
With the Blue Impact grant program, BCBSTX awarded 102 Texas nonprofits $2.9 million in 2024. The program invests in organizations working to address social and economic drivers of health.
“We’re part of the community and it is our mission to provide access to care, whether Texans are our members or whether we’re helping through our communities, like we are with the St. Vincent de Paul pharmacy,” says Patty Escoe, BCBSTX Vice President of Operations. “For nearly a century, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has invested in the communities where we live and work by providing access to care through our products and community investments.”
Paula Farias is among the patients who rely on the pharmacy. The Garland resident, who cleans houses and babysits, recently stopped by to pick up prescriptions she needs to manage her diabetes.
“This pharmacy is helping me a lot,” she says. “If I didn’t have this, it would be hard for me to get my medications. I am very grateful for it.”
