Carol Risaliti, the executive director of Beacon Charitable Pharmacy, attended our recent Board meeting to give an update on pharmacy operations.

Beacon started out in 2002 as the Prescription Assistance Network of Stark County. It was collaboratively funded by the Sisters of Charity Foundation and the Austin-Bailey Health and Wellness Foundation to increase local access to prescription medications. It was the second charitable pharmacy in the state.

Beacon provides free or extremely inexpensive prescriptions to uninsured and underinsured residents of Stark and Carroll Counties who have low or moderate incomes. Most medications are donated. The medications are managed and distributed by Beacon’s pharmacists, who also educate patients about their medications and medical conditions.

Twenty years after it was established, Beacon remains a community hero. In 2022, more than 2,300 unduplicated individuals received nearly 25,000 prescriptions, thanks to Beacon’s lifesaving efforts. The wholesale value of those medications was more than $3.5 million dollars.

In 2020, Beacon expanded to serve Lorain County through a partnership with the Lorain Underserved Coalition. In the months to come, exciting plans are in the works. Carol and her team will be collaborating with numerous community partners, including the American Heart Association, which will be helping to promote pharmacy services and vaccination this spring and fall. In addition, a mobile “Pharmacy on Wheels” is planned, to make getting prescriptions even more convenient.  

Beacon is located in the Goodwill Community Campus on 9th Street SW in Canton, and inquiries are welcome! To learn more, visit beaconpharmacy.org or call (330)445-1087.
Catholic Social Teaching Connection

Beacon’s work clearly aligns with the Sisters of Charity Foundation’s mission to improve the lives of the poor and underserved.

It also aligns with several themes of Catholic Social Teaching:
  • The theme of Call to Family, Community, and Participation compels us to seek the common good and safeguard the dignity of the poor and vulnerable.
  • The theme of Rights and Responsibilities reminds us that we have an obligation to ensure the well-being of others.
  • And finally, Option for the Poor and Vulnerable instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.