HARTFORD, Conn. – Saint Francis Hospital has launched a program offering free prescription medications for the most vulnerable members of the community. Through a partnership with Dispensary of Hope, a nonprofit organization, individuals who are uninsured, low-income and living with chronic illness, will have access to the medications they need.

Medications will be dispensed to patients through the Saint FrancisRx pharmacy at Saint Francis Hospital. Eligible patients throughout the region may also receive medications through the Meds to Beds program, which fills discharge prescriptions and delivers them to the bedside before the patient leaves the hospital.   

The initiative is a component of the hospital’s efforts in integrating clinical and social care with the goal of optimizing health for people experiencing poverty and other vulnerabilities. Through health-related social needs screening, providers are better able to understand patients’ needs and their barriers to care, allowing for connections to helpful resources and services specific to individual needs.

“A key component of our Mission and one of our Core Values is a commitment to those experiencing poverty,” said Robert Roose, MD, MPH, President, Acute Care, Trinity Health Of New England. “Through this partnership with Dispensary of Hope, we are further supporting our patients at critical moments by reducing financial stress and actively removing barriers that often lead to delayed care, unfilled prescriptions and preventable complications."

To be eligible, patients must be:

  • Uninsured or have health insurance that does not offer prescription coverage.

  • At, or below, 300% of the Federal Poverty Level.

  • Not covered under government-sponsored health insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, VA, etc.) 

Dispensary of Hope coordinates with pharmaceutical manufacturers to distribute donated medications to those in need through more than 340 partner sites nationwide. Dispensary of Hope’s network filled 1.4 million prescriptions for 197,000 patients in FY 2026, delivering more than 3,800 prescriptions each day to uninsured and low-income individuals.

Interested patients can speak with their physician, pharmacist or Community Health Worker about completing an eligibility assessment, or learn more at TrinityHealthOfNE.org/SaintFrancisRx