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PHOENIX — Kristen Pyland, a Genoa Healthcare pharmacist, always knew she wanted to spend her professional career making a difference in the lives of others. For her, becoming a pharmacist was the ticket to using her knowledge and expertise to serve her community. Pyland has helped patients stay on their medication plans and improve their quality of life, but nothing stands out more than the day she saved the life of a woman experiencing an overdose across the street from her pharmacy.
Kristen Pyland, Genoa Healthcare, 3864 N. 27th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85017, genoahealthcare.com
Recently, Pyland was filling prescriptions when she was alerted by a nurse that a woman across the street was experiencing an opioid overdose. The woman needed naloxone, a life-saving treatment that temporarily reverses the effects of opioids. Immediately, Pyland grabbed the naloxone and ran to the end of the street where she found a woman lying unresponsive.
The woman did not have a pulse, even after the first naloxone treatment. Pyland administered the second treatment and continued to wait for a sign of life. She didn’t think the woman was going to make it.
Still, she persisted while waiting for paramedics to arrive. Just as she was about to administer CPR, she felt a pulse and the woman began to regain her senses. Pyland had just saved a life, one of the many ways she has made a difference in her community during her career as a pharmacist.
“Overdose deaths are all too common, and we usually don’t get the chance to help until it’s too late,” Pyland said. “I was thankful that I was alerted, and that we had the opportunity to help.”
It was Pyland’s own terrifying health experience that encouraged her to find her life’s passion in pharmacy. At just 8 years old, Pyland hemorrhaged from surgery complications when she had her tonsils removed. The health and medication professionals saved her life, an experience that inspired her to seek a career where she could make a difference in the lives of others.
Today, Pyland spends her days providing life-saving care for her community, just as it was extended to her.
Like most of Genoa’s 725 pharmacies, the pharmacy where Pyland works is located within a community mental health clinic. In partnership with providers, she delivers hands-on, personalized pharmacy care for the behavioral health community in Phoenix.
Pyland’s pharmacy and partner clinic serves a large population of people with substance use disorder (SUD). According to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, the Phoenix community saw more than 1,200 deaths in 2021 from opioid overdoses, an increasing number that is consistent with national trends.
Genoa pharmacy teams help patients adhere to their medication plans by packaging medications in prefilled pill organizers, synchronizing prescription refills and customizing pharmacy care based on individual needs. The pharmacy’s partnership with clinics means each Genoa pharmacy provides personalized care and pharmacists act as part of an integrated care team.
Pyland became a Genoa pharmacist during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a time that put stark focus on the significant barriers to care that the behavioral health community often faces, including housing insecurity and limited access to transportation. The role of the pharmacist as part of the care team was integral throughout the pandemic and continues to be critical in providing quality care today.
“We’re an extra set of eyes that can watch for warning signs and important information through our interactions with patients,” Pyland said. “I’ve identified patients with signs of conditions like tardive dyskinesia and flagged it for providers to make sure they get the care they need. The collaborative nature of our work makes it possible for us to treat people more holistically.”
Genoa also supports clinic partners with medication-assisted treatment programs for SUD in states that allow it. These programs combine compassionate, stigma-free care and therapy with medication that can aid in recovery and are a big focus for Pyland’s team, given the patient population they serve. It’s also a service about which Pyland cares deeply.
“Last year, my father passed away from his chronic alcohol use disorder,” Pyland said. “After watching the pain it caused him and my family throughout my childhood, I made it my goal to help people in recovery so they can have a chance to improve their quality of life and be with their families.”
The support from her team, including the talented pharmacy technician she worked with at the start of her career, has made it possible for Pyland’s pharmacy to make a difference in the community — a mission she continues to keep at the heart of her work.
“As a pharmacist serving the behavioral health community, I witness the devastating effects SUD has on patients’ lives,” Pyland said. “It’s extremely difficult for someone to decide to get treatment and stay true to that promise to themselves. So, when they do, I’m dedicated to providing the support and care they need to be successful, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help people make a positive change in their life.”
