“ It ’ s not that we were unhappy where we were ,” Jody explained . “ We just wanted to do things that we couldn ’ t do at our place of employment before .”
Thus the Dungans opened Advance Care Pharmacy last October in the MedPark West complex off Hail Knob Road .
“ We both love getting our hands into things that are new ,” Jody added . “ With independent pharmacy , you really have that opportunity to drive whatever it is that your interested in versus working in a retail place where you ’ re more restricted about what you can do .”
Their varied interests help make them to be a good team . While Jody focuses on the more clinical aspects of the business , Weston specializes in compounding .
The pharmacy is equipped with both a non-sterile room for capsules , creams , suppositories and the like as well as a sterile room where he can work on injectables , eye drops and ointments , and home infusions . There is also an additional hazardous area for things like hormone creams .
“ Everything is pretty much mixed here in these rooms ,” Weston said , adding that the sterile work requires them to be gowned up .
In addition to the certifications , inspections and contracts involved with opening a pharmacy — a process the Dungans estimate took 10 months — the couple chose unfinished office space which allowed them to “ build out ” the pharmacy as they wanted . They enlisted a group from Colorado to construct “ clean ” rooms for compounding .
The MedPark location is quieter than the hustle and bustle of US 27 , which Jody feels gives the pharmacy a smoother traffic flow — particularly when it comes to the drive-thru . Weston acknowledged that several in Somerset haven ’ t been to the complex , which has been a challenge . One thing they did to get their name out there was to provide Covid testing as the virus
Jody and Weston Dungan , owners and pharmacists at Dungan ’ s . Story photos by Janie Slaven
June 2022 SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky • 31