Ask Avita Pharmacy team member Adriana Murray what influenced her to become a pharmacist committed to compassionately caring for underserved individuals, and you’ll soon learn it was a fate-like convergence of circumstances. If you don’t subscribe to that idea, consider it a fortunate set of coincidences ultimately benefiting Adriana’s future patients, team members, and community health partners. Either way, read on to learn her story and about her reputation as someone who goes all-in for those she serves.
Circumstance #1: Growing up rurally among a family of caregivers
Adriana hails from a long line of dedicated healthcare providers. Her mom’s a nurse; her uncle is a doctor. But it was her aunt, a pharmacist, who really caught Adriana’s eye. “I knew that was the path for me,” Adriana says of pharmacy. “Seeing her care for the community, I knew that was something I could do. She taught me how essential a pharmacist is to patient care. It’s a quiet job but also a very impactful one, which matches who I am as a person.”
Growing up in rural Williston, South Carolina, “Everybody either knew me or knew my family, and I treated my neighbors like family,” Adriana says. Another aunt, the family matriarch, acted as a caretaker for those who had less. “I can remember plenty of times when she’d take money out of her savings to help pay for someone’s essential medication,” Adriana recalls.
My aunt taught me how essential a pharmacist is to patient care. It’s a quiet job but also a very impactful one, which matches who I am as a person.
Circumstance #2: Empathy and the Golden Rule meets the real world
From a young age, Adriana felt a visceral empathy for those in need. She combined that core value with a strict adherence to the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. During pharmacy school, Adriana learned about health inequities and how they impact patient wellness. But it wasn’t until her first job in a rural retail pharmacy that she witnessed these barriers to optimal care on the front lines.
“We’re talking about people not being able to afford $3 or $4 prescription co-pays,” she recalls. “There were patients who would ask to refill their old antibiotic prescriptions to avoid the cost and time needed to go see the doctor for a new one. You see that, and you just want to be a resource.”
We’re talking about people not being able to afford $3 or $4 prescription co-pays. You see that, and you just want to be a resource.
Circumstance #3: Joining the Avita Team
When Adriana joined the Avita team four years ago, she didn’t know what to expect. She’d worked at a retail pharmacy and a drug manufacturing facility before earning a role at Avita’s Lexington, S.C., location.
But once she started, something magical happened: “Suddenly, I got to use my clinical knowledge and also help people,” she says. “It’s the best of both worlds.” For Adriana, “Everything that I’ve experienced has brought me to the place I am today,” she says. “I get to help so many different people with resources, just like I wanted to when I was younger, but I’m able to put that into practice now.”
Adriana’s philosophy on compassionate care is a razor-sharp match to Avita’s mission: “Where you live or how much money you have in your bank account should never determine your access to healthcare or your health outcomes,” she says. “I treat everyone with respect and leverage my knowledge to educate and ensure the safety of my patients. Avita is empowering communities to bridge that gap by using its resources to help people live better and longer lives.”
Everything that I've experienced has brought me to the place I am today, I get to help so many different people with resources, just like I wanted to when I was younger, but I’m able to put that into practice now.
Compassionate care in action
How does Adriana’s commitment to treating the whole patient play out behind the pharmacy counter and within the wider community?
She and the Lexington team dedicate themselves to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment where patients feel safe discussing their sexual health. “I open that door to the harder conversations, and I do it in a very caring and non-judgmental way,” Adriana explains. “It’s more than just ‘checking all the boxes.’ You’ve got to see the bigger picture of what’s going on in the patient’s life. I let them know that I’m a resource for them.”
For example, recently, one of Adriana’s patients taking HIV prevention medicine, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, did not receive his prescription via mail delivery. “The patient was very anxious because he was fairly certain his medication had been stolen,” Adriana says, “and he was concerned that others might learn the indication for this medication and judge him.”
Adriana got right to work finding a solution that eased the patient’s mind and ensured his adherence to the medication. “We found a secure drop-off location where he could retrieve his meds moving forward so this would never happen again,” Adriana says. “I reminded him about the importance of continuing PrEP for his health and assured him that the Avita Pharmacy team would always be available to help him solve any other issues that may arise.”
All in a day’s work? Pretty much, says Adriana. “That’s just how we operate here,” she says. “We know our patients by names and faces, and when they come to the pharmacy, we’re ready to build those relationships.”
Doing so has been a “huge part of how we want to operate as a pharmacy and make our patients feel,” she adds. “It’s treating people the way we would want someone to treat our family members—the way we want to be treated.”
That's just how we operate here. We know our patients by names and faces, and when they come to the pharmacy, we’re ready to build those relationships.
TEAM MEMBER SNAPSHOT
Name: Adriana Murray, PharmD, AAHIVP
Title: Pharmacist
Location: Avita Pharmacy, Lexington, S.C.
Favorites:
- App: ChatGPT
- Music: Old-school R&B
- Destination: Isle of Palms, S.C.
- Food: Crab legs
