On Friday, October 28, I was hosted by APhA Trustee Matt Osterhaus on an outstanding tour of Iowa pharmacies. After watching an exciting sixth game of the World Series on Thursday night, we had breakfast with Bob and Ann Osterhaus before visiting Osterhaus Pharmacy in Maquoketa. From there, we headed to Mount Vernon to visit Shepley Pharmacy and pharmacist Amy Jackson, and then to a Hy-Vee pharmacy and pharmacist Thane Kading in Iowa City.

While in Iowa City, we visited Randy McDonough’s pharmacy (see his great column in October Pharmacy Today on page 50). We also stopped for lunch at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy with Bernard Sorofman, Executive Associate Dean; Mike Kelly, Associate Dean; Susan Vos, the APhA-ASP advisor; Brandon Patterson, a former APhA-ASP President and current APhA New Practitioner Advisory Committee member; and two student officers, Page Crew and David Huhtelin.

From Iowa City, we drove to Drake University in Des Moines, where we participated in a panel discussion with a large student group on career pathways. The panel included Becky Snead, National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations; April Shaughnessy, Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy; and Mindy Smith, APhA Foundation. Thanks to Associate Dean Renae Chesnut and Dean Raylene Rospond for hosting us.

We took a breath, and then finished the evening celebrating with almost 300 Tom Temple well wishers at his retirement fête in West Des Moines. The event was a celebration of Tom’s lifetime of service and accomplishment. It was also a fundraiser to support an outstanding leadership development program that the Iowa Pharmacy Association and the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin have been doing for years. I was so grateful to be there to support the event and to recognize the many contributions of my friend, Tom Temple, to our profession.

Throughout the day, I was impressed with the sophistication and focus each pharmacist had on the provision of medication therapy management and other patient care services. While the pharmacies were efficient, high-volume operations, they were each definitely focused and structured to provide excellent patient care. I’d like to extend my thanks to the Osterhaus clan for being such gracious hosts.