Pharmacy counter six, please

By Damien Salas, Pentagram Staff WriterSeptember 11, 2015

Pharmacy counter six, plus Influx of volunteers help keep Rader pharmacy at full speed
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Behind pharmacy window six at the Andrew Rader U.S. Army Health Clinic, volunteers work to make the lives of service members, veterans, retirees and their family members easier.

"On any given day between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., upwards of 50 or more clients approach the sixth window to receive their medications," said the clinic's American Red Cross volunteer coordinator Gary Flynn.

According to Flynn, he and 17 active volunteers ranging in age from early 20s to 90s serve under the auspices of both the American Red Cross and Army Community Service.

Duties of a pharmacy volunteer include processing prescription orders for distribution and individual phone-in refill orders.

"Our volunteers are not required to be licensed pharmacists, or even have a medical background," he said. "The team we have currently just enjoys serving the military and retiree community."

Some of the volunteers have donated personal time for two decades or more, said Flynn.

"On Mondays, typically volunteers process for distribution approximately 500 to 600 individual orders," said Flynn. "An order can be as simple as a single prescription, or as complex as 10 or more, all for the same client."

The day following a long holiday weekend, such as Labor Day, as many as 800 orders may be processed for distribution. The computerized distribution cabinet holds approximately 952 orders of varying sizes ready for pick up, according to Flynn.

"The volunteers at Rader Clinic are essential to our ability to provide fast and safe pharmacy service to the vast number of patients who Rader Clinic serves," said Maj. Thomas Lehmann, the clinic's chief of Ancillary Services. "We are sincerely appreciative of the hard work they do every day."

Pharmacy volunteers not only ease the workload of pharmacy staff and shorten the wait time for clients, they save the clinic money that would otherwise be spent on paid staff.

"Over the past several months the volunteers have given collectively 300 hours per month or more," said Flynn. "On a yearly basis this equates to the hours of one full time paid employee."

For those interested in volunteering, Flynn says pay a visit to window six and speak with him.