Thanks for working here Thursday: Monica Smith, CCMH Pharmacy

Campbell County Health is proud of its employees, and we want the CCH family and the Campbell County community to know about the good work that they do for this organization.

Have you met Monica Smith, a Pharmacy Technician in the Campbell County Memorial Hospital Pharmacy? While the Pharmacy at CCMH isn't a retail pharmacy, which means that the public cannot have them fill their prescriptions like you would at other pharmacies around town, the department is responsible for helping with medications prescribed for patients while they are in the hospital. The CCMH Pharmacy is also the only dispensary that provides home IV therapy that's ordered by a provider and mixes all of the chemotherapy drugs for the patients at the Heptner Cancer Center.

Monica has been with CCH for three years, and received her training through a job at the Walmart Pharmacy, where she worked for 13 years. Monica is licensed by the State of Wyoming and is nationally certified.

We asked Monica what inspired her to work in health care, and she mentioned her mother, who was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for a number of years, as well as a dental assistant. “My mom would seem so calm when she was called into work, and just had an incredible passion for saving a life and helping people—it was truly inspiring. When I participated in grade school science fairs I would bring Annie in and do demo of CPR while everyone else was building volcanos,” she says.

Another inspiration for working in health care came when she was 30 weeks pregnant and went into pre-term labor. “I had a severe infection and had to be transferred to Denver for an emergency C-section. The amount of nurses and doctors that helped me and just the NICU nurses alone were so, so amazing. They saved my son, which was the best gift and I will forever have a huge place in my heart for all of them. After that I was ready to make a change to guide me toward where I am now,” she said.

When she’s not at work, Monica says that she does her best to be a good mom to her son and her boyfriend’s two boys, and has a love for crafts and redoing pieces of furniture. As a family, they enjoy Team Roping events, and camping and fishing, “although I am not the best fisherman, I do throw my fair share of lures in the lake!”

We asked Monica what she likes most about working for CCH, and what excellence every day means to her. Check out her response:

Working in the Pharmacy, I’ve been able to work with a variety of people and personalities. We all exchange and share our lives, so I have made some lifelong connections and have had look at myself as a person and stepped out of my own comfort zone here--I love it! One of my proudest moments was the day I started learning chemo mixtures and medications; it was both the scariest and best day of my technician career so far.

I am thankful for the opportunity to work here and to be able to call CCH my home. I love the health care world because it’s always changing. We are part of something so much bigger than we realize. Our words and actions can forever change someone’s whole view and perception of health care, and I feel that’s pretty powerful. I am very proud and so happy to work where I do and with all the people I do. I am so, so blessed to be surrounded by a great group of Pharmacists and Technicians!

Excellence every day means bringing my “A” game every day—showing up with an open mind and good attitude.”

Monica, we are so grateful that you chose to be on our team and thank you for bringing your “A” game every day. We appreciate you.

Is there a CCH employee who went the extra mile or shows you extraordinary service? Give them a pat on the back by completing an Excellence Every Day card.