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hard they make it to follow a healthy diet. She offered free smoking-cessation patches for when he is ready to give
needles—says she was able to go off of insulin over a year ago.
“ [The pharmacy team] helped me empower myself.
Together we’ve taken a proactive course at getting my numbers down and getting my life back. They are the backbone of my support system.” —PATIENT EMILY MCGEE
up the habit. And she asked if he is checking his feet daily for cuts, and when his next appointment with the podiatrist is scheduled. Phyllis Antolick remembers when she first began working with the pharmacy team almost two years ago. “They helped me understand blood sugar, and worked with me on exercise and what to look for on food labels,” she says. Working with the team, Antolick—who hates
For patients with complicated issues, visits might be weekly until they become stable. “You make little steps at a time, and then once they see the results and they start feeling better, that’s when they really start listening and doing more,” Yip says. “They soon realize that we listen and we provide advice based on their needs and wants, and they appreciate that,” she says. “That’s why they keep coming back.”
page 22, left: Clinical pharmacist Lily Yip, PharmD ’11, conducts an intake meeting with new patient Steven Williams. page 22, center: Keith Somsanith, DO, a family medicine specialist at the clinic, confers with Yip. page 23, right: Medical assistant Fanny Sanchez takes Phyllis Antolick’s vitals. page 24: Pharmacy care manager Melanie Sarabia, Yip, Sanchez and pharmacy resident Connie Chu
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