Pharmacy Spotlight: Huntsman leads pharmacies through vision, mission focus

Walking into Mooney’s Pharmacy in Johnson City, Tennessee, on the day before Halloween, it’s clear that the locally owned pharmacy takes pride in how its staff serves its customers.

The store windows are painted in black and orange, decorative pumpkins and spider webs adorn the counters and shelves, and staff are dressed in a wide array of costumes.

According to Dr. Chad Huntsman—owner of Mooney’s, as well as P&S Pharmacy in Kingsport, and College Park Pharmacy in Morristown—the seasonal decorations at all three of his pharmacies not only help bring smiles to patients’ faces, but are part of a friendly competition between staff at the three pharmacies, of which ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy helped serve as judge this year.

Huntsman said the decorations, which change by season and holiday, get at the heart of pharmacies’ mission.

“Our mission is to provide the highest level of care to our patients and community through the continued advancement of pharmacy practice. We have developed a reputation not only for our expertise but also for our principles, which ensure customers know what to expect when they walk in the door,” said Huntsman, from Morristown and earned his PharmD from Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy. He has a background in mechanical engineering.

He breaks down the company’s guiding principles into four statements:

• Patients come first—"The patient must be our most important priority in all that we do in the pharmacy,” said Huntsman.
• Treat others the way you want to be treated—“This old proverb is still true,” he said. “Each person is treated with dignity and respect.”
• Choose to encourage—"We want to use the power of our words to help and heal,” said Huntsman.
• Wisdom, integrity, and trust—"We pursue wisdom and integrity,” he said Huntsman. “Therefore, we are the trusted name in pharmacy.”

Huntsman also is a luminary for the Northeast Tennessee chapter of the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network (CPESN® USA), a nationwide network of clinically integrated pharmacies. He is also a participant in Flip the Pharmacy, a national movement to transform and expand the role of community pharmacy. Gatton supports both initiatives.

Since earning his PharmD, Huntsman has worked alongside his father, Joe, at the family-owned College Park Pharmacy, and has transitioned to owner – and occasional part-time pharmacist – at Mooney’s.

“I love what I do,” said Huntsman. “It is an incredible blessing to get to know our customers and their families, and to help serve them with their greatest needs, their health care.”

Gatton College of Pharmacy is a strong supporter of community pharmacy. In 2018, the college launched its Community Pharmacy Initiative, designed to enrich its students’ experience in community pharmacy and champion progressive practice models, focusing on four key areas: workforce preparedness, innovative practice environment development, stakeholder collaboration, and community-based pharmacy research.