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| Tim Kaylor, Denise Kreckel, Nick Owens and Lori Huber from Thompson’s Long Term Care Pharmacy check out the robot technology in the pharmacy filling area. | Pete Kreckel, Tim Kaylor and Nick Owens joined Joe Fatigante, warehouse manager from Value Drug, for a tour of their facility which will approach $800 million in sales. |
For the past five weeks, two students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy have participated in the Rural Pharmacy Rotation hosted by Denise and Peter Kreckel of Tyrone.
Timothy Kaylor form Butler, Pa, and Nicholas Owens from York, Pa have been guests at the Kreckel home, where they have experienced the outstanding level of pharmaceutical care provided by these preceptors.
Denise Kreckel, manager of CareSite at Patton Forest, has exposed these excellent students to the many facets of a retail based pharmacy located in a Geisinger Clinic. Both Nick and Tim have worked on projects such as Medication Therapy Management (MTM), preparation of cancer chemotherapy injectables, community outreach presentation of self care for allergies, as well as day to day operations of a clinic based retail pharmacy. Denise, who is the only trained pharmacist for in-store immunizations in the State College area, has shared her expertise of vaccinations with the students. The students also assisted in the initial set-up of the pharmacy at the soon to be opened Geisinger clinic at Gray’s Woods.
Peter Kreckel, who is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at St. Francis University, kept the students busy Thursday afternoon with student remediation. Both students helped provide a remedial course for the Physicians Assistant Department. The students also assisted with a computer web-based continuing education program on HIV/AIDS therapy. The students fielded questions from pharmacists who participated in the web seminar from New York City to Hong Kong. The students also have worked in the community based retail practice at Thompson Pharmacy’s Broad Ave. Pharmacy in Altoona, where Kreckel has recently been appointed as store manager.
The students also toured Thompson’s Pharmacy in Altoona where they were introduced to the high tech robotics of prescription dispensing. They toured Thompson’s long term care facility pharmacy as well as their retail stores. After the tour of Thompson Pharmacies, they visited Value Drug, a local drug wholesaler. There they toured the operations of this facility which distributes drugs and merchandise to nearly 500 accounts in Pennsylvania. Joe Fatigante, the warehouse manager, explained that independent retail pharmacy is very much alive and well in this area due to the efforts of Value Drug.
Both students have gleaned a lot of wisdom from Denise and Pete Kreckel, two well seasoned clinicians who serve as preceptors for the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Pharmacy. They have also grown to love this area with the less hectic pace of the big city, as well as to appreciate the loyalty of the customers who support the efforts of the independent pharmacies who provide such an outstanding and personal level of health care.
