The Apothecary Shoppe Salt Lake City, UT
Owner: Kevin DeMass, RPh
For 45 years, location, personalized service, and state- of-the-art pharmacy technology, have bolstered The Apothecary Shoppe of Salt Lake City, to grow, expand, and thrive along the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, east of the Salt Lake Valley.
The pharmacy was recently remodeled to offer patients a warm, friendly and inviting atmosphere. To enhance visitor comfort, a 10-foot stonewall was added to house coffee, snack, and soda fountain items. Good Neighbor Pharmacy (GNP) logos and artwork enhance store wall space, including a large monitor that presents GNP marketing material, social media campaigns, promotions, monthly specials, and over-the-counter products.
When patients enter the pharmacy, The Apothecary Shoppe owner, Kevin DeMass, RPh, and his staff, greet them with a smile and address them by name. Each month, to check on them and monitor their adherence, patients receive a personal phone call from a staff member. Despite the many available automated, outbound-calling software products, Kevin attributes his patients high medication compliance levels to the personal call from their friends at the Apothecary Shoppe.
Kevin and his staff are proud of their location on the historic campus of Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, where Holy Cross Hospital, the first Catholic hospital in Utah, was establish in 1875 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. In 1994, the hospital was sold and renamed Salt Lake Regional Medical Center.
The art of caring, listening, and healing
For more than a century, the art of caring, listening, and healing, have been the benchmark of care on the hospital campus, and at The Apothecary Shoppe. In the 1980’s, some of the first HIV/AIDS patients in Utah were diagnosed and treated at the Medical Center. For their medications, many of these patients continue to visit The Apothecary Shoppe, particularly to see Kevin and his staff.
The Regional Medical Center’s Hospital-based HIV specialty clinic has grown substantially. New patients keep coming to the pharmacy for drug regime expertise, coupon assistance, and third party billing coordination. The Apothecary Shoppe was the first pharmacy in Salt Lake to submit hand-written claims to the Aids Drug Assistance Program at the Utah Department of Health. The pharmacy raises money for several local HIV charities and sponsors food drives and football teams for charity benefits.
Mentoring a new generation of pharmacists
The Apothecary Shoppe is strategically located near the University of Utah College of Pharmacy. Kevin works closely with the college and acts as a mentor and preceptor to future pharmacists. You will likely find a pharmacy student on a community pharmacy rotation, a budding intern, or a hopeful extern working in his pharmacy nearly every semester.
Most days, Kevin is engaged at the pharmacy, where his first priority is his patients. In addition, Kevin serves as a WSPC Group Leader, GNP National Advisor, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Advocate, and advisor to his partners at his LTC pharmacy.
The proud husband and father of four has one son who is a third-year pharmacy student, and a daughter who is a pharmacy technician. Says Kevin, “All family members work behind the scenes on nights, weekends, and holidays, to keep the business running. I’m so appreciative and grateful for their unwavering support.”
