Dear Colleague,
I know it's still officially summer, but my thoughts are often drawn to the holiday movie "It's a Wonderful Life" because of its message that one person and their actions can directly and, most of all, indirectly impact an entire community. I'm reminded of that again as the U.S. approaches the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the gulf coast. During that disaster, independent pharmacists were boots on the ground helping people. Nothing about that has changed in the 20 years since.
Hurricane Helene and the California fires are two recent natural disasters where independent pharmacy owners stepped up when others couldn't or didn't. This month's America's Pharmacist® and Independent Rx Forum podcast goes to North Carolina, California, Virginia and Tennessee to talk with pharmacy owners who helped their communities in times of crisis.
Let me be really, really clear about this next point. NONE of these pharmacy owners asked for recognition. ALL of them were "Aw-shucks, I just did what anyone else would do"—which I don't think is correct. Pharmacy owners think their above-and-beyond actions are common. They're not. They're uncommon and inspiring.
These owners were uniquely positioned to help their communities during desperate times, but none of them were compelled to do it. In fact, as an example of the opposite type of behavior, here's a monument to corporate tone-deafness and heartlessness. Optum sent North Carolina pharmacy owner Jessi Stout an audit notice while western North Carolina was still dealing with the mud and debris sucker punch Helene threw at them. She replied that, "Uh, we're sort of busy here digging out of a hurricane." So, Optum sent her another audit notice the very next day. Stout being politically savvy shared this message with every member of the state legislature and posted her message on social media. Only then did Optum cancel her audit and put a pause on all pharmacy audits in areas affected by the hurricane. They didn't do it because, like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, their heart grew three sizes that day. Their motivation wasn't compassion. They said they cancelled it because they were getting blown up on social media and some of the state representatives had contacted them.
America's Pharmacist editor Chris Linville and NCPA associate director of communications Sam Manas put their boots on the ground to talk with pharmacy owners. I highly recommend reading their stories and the story from NCPA Foundation executive director Sonja Pagniano describing her visit to one of the Foundation's Disaster Relief Fund grantees in Tennessee. Sam's story about the magnitude and impact of the California fires and how one pharmacy owner is dealing with trying to rebuild is particularly gripping.
They say character is how you act when no one is watching. Independent pharmacists didn't ask to be watched, but NCPA is watching and we are proud of you. And, I'll add one more point that I think is important. Even though not one of these pharmacy owners was motivated by recognition, their story needs to be told outside of our pharmacy circles. NCPA pledges to take every opportunity to do that. It's not a wonderful life for people coping with a disaster, but independent pharmacy owners are there during hard times to make them better. They can never be replaced by mail order. And their dedication to their communities can never be matched by the chains. Our country is better for them and oh, how they would be missed if they didn't exist.
Best,
B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA
NCPA CEO
P.S. I didn't know this when I started writing today's column but coincidentally, the NCPA Foundation will be hosting a webinar titled 20 Years Since Hurricane Katrina—Community Pharmacy's Lessons In Recovery on Aug. 29. As part of the Foundation's Disaster Relief efforts, it also has a great Disaster Preparedness checklist that every pharmacy owner should look at with their pharmacy team.
