Everyone in town knows Larry Hibbs. As the proprietor of his own drug store for 25 years, Larry enjoys knowing and helping his customers with their prescriptions.
Larry joined the Community Health Clinic of Butler County, a Volunteers in Medicine clinic in Butler, PA, as a pharmacy volunteer in the spring of 2008. He volunteers regularly and is in charge of the drug room at the clinic. As an active pharmacist, Larry knows the medications, possible interactions and is aware of new drugs that come onto the market. When the clinic needed to expand the drug room, Larry oversaw the project to make sure it was set up to store and facilitate efficient dispensing of medications to patients.
He also mentors pharmacy students who come to the clinic for real-life experience through internships. This is a win-win for both the students and the clinic. The students get experience in a medical setting and the clinic gets additional volunteers to work in the pharmacy.
“I have developed a special program, to show them things they don’t learn in other programs,” Larry says. “Often, pharmacists in a drugstore are so busy they don’t have a lot of time for the interns.” “I really enjoy mentoring the students,” Larry adds, “I want their time here to be as rewarding as possible to make it worth the drive!”
