ST. LOUIS — Repairs are underway at the apartment where postal worker Hildré Carter lived on St. Louis Avenue.  

He was recovering from a recent surgery when the devastating May 16 tornado tore through parts of north St. Louis.

“I had a blood vessel that burst in my left foot,” said Carter. “I’m a mail carrier, so I need my foot. I had to have surgery.”

The 57-year-old was prescribed heart medicine, but that prescription was lost to the tornado.

“I just came through AFib,” he said. “You just don’t want to be without your meds.”

Carter has stayed at the American Red Cross shelter at Refresh Community Church in University City. That’s where the Red Cross helped connect him with Rx Outreach, a nonprofit mail-order pharmacy with a community location in Dellwood. 

Carter recalls the moment he was told Rx Outreach could bring him a 90-day supply of his much-needed prescription.

“Is this for real?” he asked.

“Ultimately it’s free to the patient,” said Roy Whitley, Rx Outreach CEO and president.

He said Rx Outreach launched a disaster relief fund to help pay for prescriptions for 90 days for those affected by the tornado.

“If there’s a challenge with getting the medications, be it access, co-pay or whatever it is, Rx Outreach is here to help,” he said.

The desire to help includes a personal motive, as Whitley is from north St. Louis.

“We are a resource located here in St. Louis that is missioned to provide affordable access to medications,” he said.

Concerns over residents not having access to life-saving medication also led Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe to issue an executive order, allowing pharmacists to dispense a 30-day emergency supply of medications if needed.

Carter said he’s overwhelmed by the help.

“Thanks to them, I have my medications,” he said.

For more information about Rx Outreach, call 314-222-0472 or visit www.rxoutreach.org.