Pharmacy Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2017 - 9

SUMMER/FALL 2017

FROM
PROBLEM
CHILD TO
ENTREPRENEUR

t's hard to believe that Adam McHenry
was ever a problem child. As an eighth
grader, McHenry was a handful. "I didn't
care if I was in class or not. I hung out
with the wrong crowd," says McHenry.
One day, the school called his parents
and told them that they had not seen him for a
while. "The next month, my parents enrolled me
in a Lutheran school. It turned my life around."
In high school he was introduced to science
and pursued his passion at Metro State University.
But it wasn't easy.
"I took chemistry that first year and failed. I
took it over again and aced it. Then I fell in love
with it," says McHenry.
He thought about pursuing a PhD, but after
graduation decided to take a job in Alaska where
he worked in a rural clinic and was exposed to

pharmacy. "I didn't have answers and went to
Alaska to find them. This was an opportunity."
An opportunity where he discovered a love for
patients and interacting with them.
McHenry returned to Colorado and began
working in a compounding pharmacy where he
used his chemistry skills to develop different
formulations for patients, and learned the art
of compounding. "I guess I have an adventurous
side that loves to learn new things, and believe
in pursuing everything that comes my way," says
McHenry. Always on the move with a new idea or
adventure, McHenry is not one to sit still.
McHenry purchased Sky Ridge Compounding
Pharmacy in Parker, Colo., which recently opened
its doors for business at the corner of Parker and
Plaza roads. Sky Ridge's market niche is developing relationships with providers. According to
McHenry, "It's about building that trust with the
provider and knowing their prescribing patterns."
"During the last few years, compounding has gotten a bad name," says McHenry.
"Compounding isn't going away. This is an opportunity to promote compounding and make it
respectable again."
And, McHenry has the drive and passion to
do it.

Adam McHenry at his brand new compounding facility in Parker

Lauren Kirchner with her dog, Guinness, who alerts her at

night when she's removed her hearing aids and is home alone

Miracle
Ear

an you imagine total silence
or hearing only muffled
conversations? "You adapt,"
says Kirchner. "But there is an
advantage. Patients think I
am really engaging with them
because I am concentrating on
their lips and hearing what they have to say."
And in a career that requires patient interaction, being attentive is a plus.
Kirchner was born hearing impaired with 90
percent deficit compared to normal. "My parents
didn't know that I couldn't hear until I was about
two or three years old," says Kirchner.
But even though she's had hearing aids for
most of her life, there is a big difference between
really good ones and those that are not so good.
"For years I could hear maybe one of 10 words

with background noise." About a year and half ago,
Kirchner purchased new aids and it was a "miracle
for my ears." Now, she hears eight out of 10 words
that are said (with background noise.)
Because of her hearing impairment she
thought long and hard about a career in
pharmacy where listening to patients is a
requirement. "I struggled with my decision to
pursue pharmacy. I thought about being on the
phone a lot and the importance of getting every
single detail right. Could I do it?" She toyed with
pursuing accounting, the path her parents took.
"I didn't want to pick a career just because it
would be easy. So, I picked something I wanted
to do," Kirchner recalls.
"I'm proud to be in the medical field," says
Kirchner who is staying in Colorado and has a
position with Kaiser in Colorado.

www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy

http://www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmacy Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2017