When a provider from Nystrom & Associates recently reached out to Genoa pharmacist Holly Senn, PharmD, asking for support, she felt compelled to help however she could. A consumer of Nystrom & Associates was experiencing severe postpartum depression, and the provider wanted to see if Holly could help her secure a new medication to treat it.
“Postpartum depression is an urgent thing,” said Holly, who called the drug manufacturer right away to learn how to get the treatment. “It’s not something you want to wait around for.”
Holly is a pharmacist for the Genoa pharmacy located within Nystrom & Associates’ Sartell, Minnesota, clinic, which celebrated its grand opening in January 2024. Just a few months later, in May 2024, Genoa opened another pharmacy within Nystrom & Associates’ Baxter, Minnesota, clinic.
Specializing in caring for people living with behavioral health and other complex conditions, most Genoa pharmacies are located directly within behavioral health and specialty clinics. This unique setting enables the pharmacy team to break down barriers to care by meeting consumers where they are, so it’s easier for them to get – and stay on – their medication. It also helps them collaborate closely with clinic staff and providers so they can work to improve outcomes as one cohesive care team.
Team members celebrate the grand opening of the Genoa pharmacies, located within Nystrom & Associates’ clinics in Sartell (left) and Baxter (right), Minnesota.
Upon connecting with the drug manufacturer, Holly learned that the new postpartum depression medication was expensive and hard to access. The Food and Drug Administration had only approved it a few months prior, and, while Genoa can typically fill specialty and limited-distribution medications, only four specialty pharmacies could carry the treatment at the time.
Despite knowing another pharmacy would ultimately fill the medication, Holly didn’t stop there. She called the consumer’s insurance to see which specialty pharmacy was in-network and continued working to get the medication approved through the specialty channels.
“It was a lot of work and back and forth between the provider, the consumer, her insurance, the manufacturer, and me,” Holly said. “We were so excited when we found out the medication was approved, and the consumer didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket. The provider gave me a nice, big hug and thank you.”
This year’s Sartell and Baxter pharmacy openings mark the sixth and seventh locations of their kind for Genoa and Nystrom & Associates, who began their partnership in 2009.
Pharmacist Holly hosted a tour of Genoa’s new pharmacy located within Nystrom & Associates’ Sartell, Minnesota clinic, during a grand opening celebration in January 2024.
“This longtime, proven partnership with Genoa has made, and will continue to make, a positive impact in our communities,” said Lisa Thistle, director of clinic operations for Nystrom & Associates. “It’s this kind of care that helps us achieve our mission of empowering people to be the best version of themselves. And it’s why we continue to add pharmacies where we can.”
Josh Van Veldhuizen, director of pharmacy operations for Genoa Healthcare believes Holly demonstrated Genoa’s values when she helped secure the medication for this consumer. “She did everything we do for our consumers and clinic partners,” he said. “It wasn’t about filling a medication or the bottom line – it was about taking care of an individual and making sure their mental health need was taken care of.”
Holly credits Genoa’s unique setting for enabling her to provide high-touch support to the people she serves. “The culture just breeds this type of care,” she said. “I’d do something like this for Nystrom any day.”
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