Legislative staff for influential U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) experienced first-hand a community’s reliance on its pharmacy and the obstacles to care that pharmacies face every day.
- On August 30, Audrey Smith, senior policy advisory (pictured third from left), and Jennifer Laux, legislative correspondent (pictured at right), visited a Nitro, WV Fruth Pharmacy.
- Pictured with Sen. Manchin’s staff, from Fruth Pharmacy, are (from left to right) Drew Massey, Andy Becker, Caleb Samples, and Lynne Fruth – the company’s president and a member of the NACDS Board of Directors.
Within one hour, Sen. Manchin’s staff experienced the Fruth Pharmacy team handling numerous challenges and meeting diverse needs for patients – with an obviously personal commitment.
- Among the developments during the visit: Medication approval from Medicare Part D; securing an electronic prescription promised by a prescriber that had not actually been sent; identifying a suitable replacement for a specific medication that no longer is available; locating a medication that is in shortage; filling a high volume of medications for an aging community; and providing COVID-19 booster shots.
- Adding to the importance of services provided by the Fruth Pharmacy team, many of the patients were receiving care when they needed it most: upon discharge from the hospital and amid concerns about serious health conditions.
Pharmacist Shelly Hodges provided clear comfort to patients, calling them by the names she has known throughout her 34-year career.
Fruth Pharmacy’s central fill location and its important role in freeing up the pharmacist to provide personal care as demonstrated at the Nitro location also was part of the visit.
The Fruth Pharmacy team highlighted legislative priorities that are key to the viability of local pharmacies and to patients’ access to care. The pharmacy and central fill visit provided an ideal context for this important legislative conversation.
NACDS conveys appreciation and respect to Sen. Manchin’s staff and to the Fruth Pharmacy team for an impactful pharmacy visit.
