January 2019 | St. Luke’s

By: Anastasia Corolenco

Pharmacy Focus this quarter is on the St. Luke Rehabilitation Institute in Spokane.

St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute is considered one of the most technologically advanced and one of the largest rehab centers in the Inland Northwest. Each year more than 7,200 people throughout the state use St. Luke’s to recover after stroke, brain, and spinal cord injuries, as well as chronic pain and workplace or auto injuries. As the only Level 1 trauma rehabilitation hospital in the region, St. Luke’s provides a wide variety of services focused on pain management, occupational, speech and physical therapies, and also cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. It allows each patient to gain the strength, skills, function, and confidence needed to live their happiest, most fulfilling life.


St. Luke’s organizes support groups onsite to assists patients with post-LSVT, dystonia, Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy, etc. on a regular basis. It’s an opportunity for patients, caregivers and family members to share their experiences and concerns, receive valuable advice, enjoy special speakers, and learn from others.

St. Luke’s also has several outpatient programs for patients in all stages of rehabilitation. Aquatic therapy helps speed up and improve the healing and recovery for patients weakened by pain, injuries, surgeries, and other conditions. Treatments take place in a climate-controlled, therapeutic-grade water temperatures and are supervised by St. Luke’s compassionate rehabilitation experts. St. Luke’s provides an assessment for “at-risk drivers.” Patients who need a reevaluation of their driving skills after head injuries, stroke, decline in vision or memory, decreased mobility, etc. St. Luke’s can help patients to restore function after on-the-job injuries and return to work safely and quickly. Onsite clinical psychologists work on teaching patients and their family members to overcome heartbreaking life experiences and traumas by improving communication, implementing pain management techniques or adjusting to lifestyle changes.

Team St. Luke’s are experts, who are committed to making a daily difference in the lives of the patients.

May 2018 | Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Pharmacy Focus this quarter is on the Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) Pharmacy, in Spokane. It is named after two local Veterans who sacrificed their lives for their country and each received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The Mann-Grandstaff VAMC Pharmacy Services supports the mission of the Veterans Health Administration by providing accurate, cost-effective, efficient, and safe pharmaceutical care to each Veteran served. Its core values are expressed through the acronym, “ICARE,” which stands for Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect, and Excellence. These core values guide employees’ actions on a daily basis to ensure they are providing the best care anywhere to Veterans by:

  • Integrating the concept of pharmaceutical care into all phases of the pharmacy practice aimed at improving employee engagement and Veteran experience.
  • Employing a systems-thinking approach to continuously improve processes and behaviors aimed at increasing value and developing best practices.
  • Increasing patient educational efforts, particularly as they relate to medication related outcomes.
  • Providing clinical pharmacy support to fulfill National VA PBM Formulary compliance and optimize outcomes with medications.
  • Being good stewards of limited organizational resources and operating cost-effectively within the allocated medical center budget.
  • Providing timely service for prescriptions filled at the pharmacy.
  • Using clinical pharmacy specialists who practice at the top of their license to manage chronic diseases in primary care and specialized care for behavioral health.

The Mann-Grandstaff VAMC pharmacy department is composed of about 30 pharmacists and 23 pharmacy technicians. The pharmacy operates a full service outpatient department dispensing prescriptions and counseling patients. They also have an inpatient department providing unit dose and IV services. Inpatient pharmacist coverage after hours is provided through a remote link to Puget Sound VAMC. During after hours, inpatient medication services are provided through fully stocked Omnicell machines and ward stock. In addition, the pharmacy provides clinical pharmacy specialist services to the primary care and specialty clinics during regular business hours, assisting providers in the treatment of anticoagulation, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, tobacco cessation, and in formulary management.

The Mann-Grandstaff VAMC serves as a rotation site to students for six different advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). Two of these rotations are ambulatory care, one in the primary care setting and the other in long-term-care/hospice. There are also rotations in acute care, community pharmacy, management, and (new for the 2018-2019 cycle) urgent care.

The Mann-Grandstaff VAMC has been providing an ASHP accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program for the past six years. Each year the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC receives applications from candidates all over the United States. A pharmacy team conducts interviews and chooses only two residents from a pool of highly qualified candidates. An ideal candidate for this position should possess not only a strong academic record, but also leadership abilities, a commitment to community, and good emotional intelligence. In other words, pharmacy residents are hired for their attitude and trained to develop their skills. Residents can get experience in outpatient, inpatient, clinical, administration, and long-term/palliative care. They also have the opportunity to select electives in infectious diseases, behavioral health, home-based primary care, and academia. Interested applicants must participate in the ASHP Residency Matching Program (The Match) and the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS).

The Mann-Grandstaff VAMC allows pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to practice at an advanced level to contribute to excellent patient care. Pharmacists at the Spokane VAMC have the highest “All Employee Satisfaction Scores” for the last two consecutive years. As a team member in the VAMC, it is important to have strong communication skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to build long-lasting relationships.

International Pharmacy Focus

The Pharmacy Focus this quarter is on a special group of pharmacies who provided a memorable glimpse into U.S. pharmacy practices to a select group of Japanese pharmacy students who were attending Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute (MFWI) this last summer.  This unique exchange is a cooperative venture between Spokane pharmacies and the English language program at MFWI.


About 20-25 pharmacy students were curious and excited to practice their English skills as well as learn about the difference in pharmacy practices between the U.S. and Japan.
Continue reading “International Pharmacy Focus”

January Pharmacy Focus

Hart and Dilatush Pharmacy

Spokane, Washington

Our featured pharmacy this month is Hart and Dilatush, in Spokane.

Hart and Dilatush Pharmacy first opened in 1918 and has been located in downtown Spokane within the Bank of America Financial Center for the last 5 years.  Historically, the pharmacy was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, until 1969 when after 51 years of continuous operation they had to search for a key to lock the front door. Continue reading “January Pharmacy Focus”