Mahaska Drug named Good Neighbor Pharmacy of the Year at virtual ThoughtSpot 2021
Mahaska Drug of Oskaloosa, Iowa, is the Good Neighbor Pharmacy of the Year. The award presentation closed out three days of independent pharmacy network’s 2021 Good Neighbor Pharmacy ThoughtSpot virtual trade show, which was held July 27 to 29.
Mahaska Drug is owned by pharmacist Jane Nicholson, who has operated the pharmacy since 1993 with a focus on accessibility and filling the role of a health destination, offering an expansive front-end and a host of community services based on strong patient relationships. With the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicholson was committed to ensuring that none of her patients saw a lapse in care, and once COVID-19 vaccines were available, she partnered with the local public health department to enable her to administer the vaccines at patients’ homes.
“We are thrilled to be able to celebrate pharmacies and provide an immersive and interactive virtual experience once again this year, which allows our customers to experience ThoughtSpot without having to leave the communities that need them right now,” said Rich Tremonte, AmerisourceBergen president of customer operations, animal health and community and specialty pharmacy. “Since the very first days of the pandemic, independent community pharmacists have proven their invaluable role as trusted, skilled, and accessible resources to address the unmet needs of patients in communities across the country — particularly as COVID-19 vaccines became available. The tireless efforts of our customers are nothing short of inspiring, and it’s an honor to celebrate their successes together at ThoughtSpot. We also want to offer a big congratulations to Mahaska Drug for being named our 2021 Pharmacy of the Year.”
The three-day ThoughtSpot 2021 was hosted on AmerisourceBergen’s ABLive event platform and included three days of programming, including general sessions, more than 40 on-demand continuing education courses and live webinars that will remain available throughout the summer. At the closing general session on Thursday, AmerisourceBergen leadership outlined four objectives that can help independent pharmacies thrive: protecting business operations, attracting and retaining patients, diversifying pharmacy services and advocating for comprehensive reforms.
As ThoughtSpot 2021 took place, J.D. Power released the results of its annual pharmacy study, which saw Good Neighbor Pharmacy earn top marks among retail chain pharmacies for the tenth time in 12 years running.
“This past year has reaffirmed our belief that community care is our future. We pushed hard to get our Good Neighbor Pharmacy customers included in the national vaccination strategy with the confidence that independent pharmacies could fill much-needed gaps in access. Our cus-tomers not only rose to the challenge but went above and beyond for their communities,” said Brian Nightengale, president of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. “ThoughtSpot is an opportunity to celebrate the dedication and resilience of our members while reaffirming our commitment to supporting their growth and profitability through strategic investments, advocacy, and contin-ued partnership. It is a privilege to be able to support these healthcare destinations.”