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The Prowers Medical Center pharmacy is a hospital pharmacy. That means it only fills medication orders for patients being cared for on-premises. It may operate behind the scenes, but it’s a busy place.
Led by Director of Pharmacy Robin Thacker and including Clinical Pharmacist Ray Luna and two Certified Pharmacy Technicians—Katie Kurtz and Bryana Carter—the pharmacy stocks and prepares medication for patients being cared for in all hospital departments, from the emergency room and surgery to OB, medsurg, the outpatient infusion center and more.
“An inpatient pharmacy is a place for the dispensing and control of medications within the hospital,” Luna said.
“We’re not a retail pharmacy,” Thacker said, “but we stock and dispense well over a thousand different medications needed for patient care.”
Thacker and Luna pointed out that pharmacy technicians are essential to hospital operations. “To be able to have a good pharmacy, you need to have a good team,” Thacker said. “Having good technicians is super important. They’re very critical in how a good pharmacy functions. When we’re all working effectively together, we meet and exceed safety and quality measures. This also gives the pharmacists the time they need to keep up with ongoing training, current practice guidelines for pharmacy, and regulatory compliance along with establishing a cohesive environment for improved patient care.”
This year, National Pharmacy Week is October 16 to 22. Please join us in recognizing the invaluable contributions the Prowers Medical Center pharmacy team makes every day. And read on to get to know our exceptional pharmacy technicians!
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women. But here’s the good news: early detection is simple and saves lives.
• Women at average risk of breast cancer—> annual mammogram starting at age 40.
• Women at higher risk of breast cancer —>annual mammogram starting at age 30.
To schedule your mammogram at Prowers Medical Center Imaging, call 719-336-6762.
To schedule your mammogram at Prowers Medical Center Imaging, call 719-336-6762.
Meet Katie Kurtz, CPhT
Kurtz has worked in the Prowers Medical Center pharmacy since 2004 and earned her certification as a pharmacy technician in 2005. She became interested in the career when a friend in health care told her about an opening on the pharmacy team. “I enjoy the fact that we’re helping people in Lamar and surrounding communities,” she said. “They come to the hospital not at their best, and on most occasions, they feel better by the time they’re discharged. I also enjoy watching our chemo patients graduate from treatment and ring the bell of achievement.”
Kurtz said that most people don’t know how much goes in to the workings of a hospital pharmacy. “The pharmacy assists with the medication needs of each department in the hospital, from making sure the automated dispensing machines are stocked for nurse-topatient use to ordering medications needed in our outpatient infusion department and preparing IV medications,” she said.
Kurtz and her husband, Kyle, have three children—Ky, Kiwi and Krypten—plus four dogs, two cats, and nine chickens. “It’s our own little mini-farm,” she said.
Meet Bryana Carter, CPhT
Carter joined the Prowers Medical Center team in 2019 and became a certified pharmacy technician in 2020. “My favorite part about working in the pharmacy is feeling we are making a difference for people,” she said, “especially patients who receive infusions.”
Carter also enjoys the growth that comes with the job. “I feel like I am constantly learning new things each day,” she said.
When she’s not busy helping with pharmacy tasks, Carter likes spending time outdoors with her husband, Nick, and their son, Cooper.
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