It is the mission of Central Pharmacy, under the administrative guidance of the Division of Public Health, to promote health and improve wellness through various programs and preparedness initiatives throughout the county. The pharmacy strives to achieve this mission by completing the following objectives:

• Furnishes policies and procedures for proper use and safe storage of medications, biologicals and devices for Suffolk County Department of Health Services divisions and programs
• Provides guidelines for medication labeling, and for the handling of expired, recalled and/or out-of-use items
• Supervises, audits, and inspects the Jail Medical Unit pharmacies
• Maintains and supplies pharmaceuticals to programs within the County’s Divisions of Patient Care and Public Health, the Bureau of Public Health Nursing, Mental Health Clinics, and County-run smoking cessation programs
• Maintains supply of certain medications for emergency preparedness use
• Operates a redistribution program, as needed, for vaccines supplied by the government in response to public health emergencies. Since 2021, Central Pharmacy has operated a redistribution program for COVID-19 vaccines (which ended with vaccine commercialization in September 2023) and mpox vaccines, facilitating and encouraging the administration of these vaccines by community medical practices and increasing the accessibility of these vaccines to county residents.