From Pills To Purpose: How Ritesh Shah and Dr. Joe Howe Created New Jersey's First Charitable Pharmacy

Introduction

Welcome to another inspiring episode of the Script Your Future Podcast! We’re joined by two remarkable guests whose story will remind you of the incredible impact pharmacists can have when they step beyond the prescription counter. Ritesh Shah, pharmacist and CEO of Legacy Pharmacy Group, has just published his autobiography “Pills to Purpose: A True Story of Love, Loss, and the Power of Service,” and he’s here alongside Dr. Joe Howe, President of Ritesh’s Charitable Pharmacy. Together, they’ve created New Jersey’s first and only charitable pharmacy—a testament to how personal tragedy can be transformed into community healing. Whether you’re a practicing pharmacist, pharmacy student, or someone interested in “doing good”, this conversation will show you what’s possible when service becomes your driving force in pharmacy. We hope you’ll be inspired by this heartwarming story.

Interview

Sonja Pagniano: Welcome to the Script Your Future Podcast. Today’s episode brings guests Ritesh Shah and Dr. Joe Howe. We are thrilled to have you both on the podcast today. We will be starting today with Ritesh telling us about his recently published book, Pills to Purpose: A True Story of Love, Loss, and the Power of Service. I think many pharmacists will be able to relate to your story today. What inspired you to write the book?

Ritesh Shah: What inspired me to write a book is out of a personal loss, but also every day how I have seen patients struggling for their medication and meeting their ends. And I felt like it happened in a way that everything fall in one place and that that pain that I was looking for that purpose to you know, diminish that pain, and then to help the community that has made me who I am today. That’s how this book was born. And also the charitable pharmacy was born.

Sonja: Excellent. Can you give us a little glimpse of what readers will discover as they read the book?

Ritesh: Oh, sure. It is my autobiography. It’s a pharmacy story when a pharmacist who goes from filling prescription behind the counter and how it crosses that counter and goes frontline to help people. And the story is about I was born and raised in India and immigrating here, got married to a love of my life.

Asha, who’s a pharmacist, also a St. John graduate- I always give that credit to St. John. That makes her very happy. And recently, we had a student came from St. John who volunteered there for three months at the charitable pharmacy this summer.

But most importantly, it’s a story of a pharmacist. I was able to write my life true experience that happened practicing as a pharmacist in my six drugstores in Monmouth County and throughout New Jersey, actually, and how a pharmacist can do a job just by going a little bit out of box, by thinking what patient is suffering, doing Seva, right? You know, we all took oaths to serve of our patients, you know, the pharmacy emblem, what pharmacist has - why they went to pharmacy school to serve and that patient understanding their condition.

Sonja, it throws me back in behind the counter right now as I speak… Nobody comes to drugstore when they’re happy. They’re grumpy. They’re not feeling good. And how do you put that peace in their mind? But especially the books talks about how I was struggling to get some of the coverage for patients and the bureaucracy and the paperwork and the insurance company not covering it.

And also so much of the patients who has to decide whether they want to put those $10 for the food or whether they want to put that $10 for the medication.

So I was able to capture those live stories and…My amazing life partner, how she supported me as a pharmacist and even after she retired when this charitable pharmacy was born out of my grief. So I’ll touch upon a little bit during pandemic…I have extreme honor serving under Governor Phil Murphy’s team and doing so many Covid specimen collection, working with Senator Wingopal, Senator Declan, and so many legislators, mayors, and bringing Covid testing in the state of New Jersey. And while doing all this thing, feeling good about it, that you as a pharmacist doing something.

And then in October 2021, I decided to go to India to celebrate Diwali with my sister. And that meeting never happened. She contracted a virus. We lost her.

And life saw something that I never wanted to see it. And my wife and I, we decided, how do we honor her? stories that I was able to write, what she has told, how we can help people who don’t have any means of getting health care or food.

Sonja: Absolutely.

Ritesh: So since we can and because God has made us able, we were able to put our building for this purpose and --Listen, I didn’t have to look far to get a pharmacist who can give thousands of hours without any salary. My better half, Asha, was there and, and, New Jersey’s first and only charitable pharmacy was born to help underserved. There’s no cash register at our drugstore. How we help those patients in a four disease stage conditions with mental health, diabetes, blood pressure, and heart conditions and nutritional products.

And those are the things that I was able to write in the book and the challenges I went through, the sustainability about the organization.

And along the way, a 4.30 A.M. phone call with Dr. Joseph Howe when he was a superintendent of schools in Freehold Borough School.

Sonja: Oh, no kidding.

Ritesh: Yep, that happened and that has turned in. Now, Dr. Howe serves as a president at a charitable pharmacy.

And you know what? It meant to me that we had to meet that way and we did. And today, our charitable pharmacy, as we speak, we are walking towards hitting $2 million worth of medication.

Sonja: No way.

Ritesh: Yes. That’s where the numbers going. I’m pretty sure this Saturday, our sold out event, Pills 2 Purpose Gala that we have. We have the physical launch of the book. And I just saw the infographics a few minutes ago. We are at $9.98 million. So by Saturday, we’ll be $2 million dispensing medicine. So this is what I was able to write. I’m thankful to so many people who has made me and inspired me, especially my daughter, who told me it has to be in a book. You need to write it and you need to let.

Sonja: Kids are the best.

Ritesh: And this is what happened in this book. Thousands plus copies got sold on Amazon and we are now taking book at next level.

So I want each and every pharmacist, every patient, every pharma, manufacturer, doctor, patient to read what pharmacists can do and the people, those who are connected with the pharmacy and the great profession of pharmacy, how they can support.

7:14 I’m thankful to you, Doug Hoey, and NCPA Foundation for giving us this opportunity as well. Thank you.

Sonja: Thank you so much, Ritesh. What an inspiring story. And I feel like you’re right. There is so much that pharmacists can do. It is not just the things behind the counter. It’s also the things you do that go above and beyond. And truly, your story is a testament to that. And I think pharmacists who read your book might feel really inspired by it and kind of have that hope renewed for them, especially in such a challenging time. Joe Howe, I would love to dig in a little bit with you about the charitable pharmacy work.

What led you to this charitable pharmacy work? I know Ritesh touched on it a little bit… Are you a pharmacist as well? Do you have a pharmacist license?

Dr. Howe: No, absolutely not. And Ritesh is kind enough to give me my academic title of doctor, but it’s in no clinical sense whatsoever…the height of the pandemic, school administrator schools are closed and part of reopening schools was getting covid testing. This was around January, February 2021 and Covid tests were just becoming available. And the issue was nobody had them. Our hospital didn’t have them. The health department didn’t have them. The state didn’t have them. And just on a whim, somebody said to me, hey, there’s this pharmacist in the next town over. He’s able to help with Covid testing. So I rea…