Dedicated pharmacy technician finds joy in every prescription filled

Pharmacy technician Cara Galloway’s smile can light up a room. She is a familiar face in the community, having worked in the pharmacy at Cox Monett for more than 27 years.

Galloway, who lives in Aurora, makes the 40-mile roundtrip to work daily. Her drive became a little shorter a few years ago when the hospital opened at its new location on east Highway 60 in Monett.

When designing the new hospital, a top priority was to make the pharmacy more accessible for patients. In the former hospital, the pharmacy was located down a long hallway on the hospital’s second floor. Now, the pharmacy at Cox Monett is in a prime location, in the main lobby, a few feet from the hospital’s front entrance.

The 1,800-square-foot hospital pharmacy provides regular medications for common illnesses and specialty medications for chronic conditions for patients in an inpatient and outpatient setting. Staff are trained and ready to assist in navigating insurance-related questions and concerns.

"I am grateful that during the hospital’s design process, careful consideration was given to the pharmacy's convenient location," says Galloway. "The department's layout and other design elements were decided upon by the staff, which added a great deal of excitement to the project."

Galloway has made a lot of friends and developed a genuine bond with her customers throughout the years. Many of those friendships are with community members who visit the pharmacy to purchase over-the-counter medications, many at a reduced cost. Other patients find it convenient to visit a provider, then walk to the hospital's pharmacy to get their prescription filled or refilled, all while strolling down a lovely corridor. Galloway also sees patients coming in after visiting urgent care.

As a hospital-based pharmacy, Galloway adds, "We have direct access to providers in the clinics or emergency department if there is a question about a prescription." “This connection is significant because we already have an established relationship with them; we work closely together on a daily basis.”

Galloway maintains that her love of her work stems from her special relationships with patients as well as the friendships she has formed with hospital staff and providers.

"Cox Monett is a special place to work and receive care,” says Galloway." "I’m proud of the work we have done to improve pharmacy accessibility for our patients and community members."

For more information including pharmacy hours: https://www.coxhealth.com/our-hospitals-and-clinics/our-locations/cox-monett-pharmacy/