Residents of rural communities across Kansas and the country face a myriad of healthcare issues that can be summed up by one idea – the lack of access to healthcare. In many of these communities, it is the local pharmacist who helps bridge that gap, becoming the person that patients turn to not only for their medications, but also to ask about other health issues, potential drug interactions or just to have someone to talk to.
Hannah Hedges, who recently wrapped up her third year at KU’s School of Pharmacy, understands exactly the impact a pharmacist can have in communities like these. Hedges grew up in Caney, Kan., a town of about 2,000 and was part of a high school graduating class of about 60 students. When she started working in her hometown pharmacy, she saw first-hand how much individuals in her town relied on the profession.
“It was a great opportunity to learn the people in my community and get to help them,” she said. "As soon as I found pharmacy and what a pharmacist can do, especially for a small community like the one that I’m from, that’s exactly why I chose to pursue a degree in pharmacy.”
One of the pharmacists she worked with was a KU graduate and she said he had nothing but good things to say about the university. So, she took a tour of the school, fell in love and the rest was history.
After graduation, Hedges hopes to return to practice in a small community like the one where she grew up and had her introduction to the profession.
“That’s what I really have a heart for,” she said. “It’s endless the amount of impact that a pharmacist can make in that setting. When you’re in a small community, you don’t have a lot of healthcare points of access, so you get to provide the whole realm of ways to help your patients.”
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