Nonprofit health centers and clinics are a critical part of America’s healthcare safety net. These facilities provide comprehensive, culturally competent health services to more than 23 million U.S. residents each year. More than 72 percent of patients have incomes below the federal poverty level and roughly 35% lack health insurance.
Access to affordable prescription medication is an obstacle that patients at health centers and community clinics face every day. Direct Relief helps tackle this challenge by providing needed medications and supplies to those who need it most, on an ongoing basis and during disasters.
As the only U.S. nonprofit to be certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as a Verified-Accredited Wholesale Distributor, Direct Relief is licensed to distribute prescription medicines to clinics in all 50 states. The organization’s ongoing U.S. programs were developed with nonprofit health centers and clinics – first in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, and since across the country – to address the chronic challenges in obtaining needed medications that exist for people who have low incomes and no insurance. These people are particularly vulnerable both on a day to day basis and during emergencies, and the facilities that care for them are critical in maintaining and improving their health.
Every month, Direct Relief informs partner clinics of available medicines and medical supplies. Through the Direct Relief network, partner health centers and clinics order what they need for low-income, uninsured patients, and Direct Relief ships the requested items at no cost. Since 2004, Direct Relief has provided more than $500 million in medical aid to the U.S. alone.
