Novant Health’s pharmacy team members recognized for service during Hurricane Florence

BOLIVIA, N.C. ― The pharmacy team at Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center received the 2019 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) CEO’s Award for Courageous Service in recognition of the heroic efforts and inspiring, unselfish service during Hurricane Florence. Perry Allen, pharmacy manager at Brunswick Medical Center, received the award on behalf of all the hospital’s pharmacy team members.

“Hurricane Florence brought unprecedented flooding, which brought on a lot of complications with residents getting their necessary medications,” Allen said. “It was definitely a remarkable team effort to step up and figure out a way to help the community during a time when they needed it most. Local community pharmacies closed for the storm so some area residents who needed medications sought them from the hospital’s pharmacy.”

Though the hospital’s pharmacy does not usually fill outpatient prescriptions, the team worked together to figure out a solution in order to meet the needs of the community. Over the course of Hurricane Florence, the hospital’s pharmacy filled about 140 outpatient prescriptions to serve Brunswick-area residents.

Roads were still flooded and unpassable for days after the storm hit the coast, which caused some uncertainty whether Brunswick Medical Center’s wholesaler would be able to replenish medication stocks that were running low. While the delivery driver couldn’t make it through, with the help of local law enforcement, the medications were transferred from the delivery truck at the edge of the water to a tactical vehicle, which was able to cross the flooded area.

“All of our team members worked extremely hard in the days we were locked down at Brunswick Medical Center,” said Shelbourn Stevens, president of Brunswick Medical Center. “As a not-for-profit organization, Novant Health steps up for the community when they need us. The pharmacy finding ways to fill much-needed prescriptions for our community’s residents is just one of the many ways we helped during Hurricane Florence.”