A high school assignment to write an essay on a career opened the eyes of a young Warwick student to opportunities in the pharmacy field. Today, AnnMarie Slagle Cloutier is a doctor of pharmacy, a compounding pharmacist and owner of Apple Valley Pharmacy in her hometown of Warwick.
Recalling the essay assignment at Warwick Valley High School, she said that back then there were very few women employed in the field. That did not deter her from going on to earn a B.S. degree in pharmacy at Northeastern University and a doctorate in pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island. After college, she received training at the Professional Compounding Centers of America.
Then came clinical experience at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Solvay Pharmaceuticals in Georgia, St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield and ReDi Pharmacy in Nanuet.
Compounding, she explains, is the art and science of preparing customized medications to suit specific needs of a particular patient.
And some of those patients are animals, running the gamut from dogs and cats to rabbits and reptiles. Earning a Fellowship in Veterinary Pharmacy Practice through the American College of Veterinary Pharmacy, Cloutier said, “Medicating animals can present problems. They may refuse to swallow pills or may even eat right around one disguised in food. Dosages may also be tricky.”
She says that compounding allows veterinarians to prescribe specific flavors, treats and dosages for individual animals.
“From time to time a manufacturer may discontinue a veterinary medicine if it is not needed in the vast quantities necessary to make mass production cost-effective,” she said.
Hormone therapy is also provided by the Warwick pharmacy, whose owner notes that the most satisfying project in her career was seeing a pregnant woman through a dangerous pregnancy with the aid of hormones.
The pharmacy is also equipped to administer vaccinations. “All the vaccines we provide are without preservatives,” Cloutier said.
In regard to prescription drugs, she said, “Some people hoard antibiotics ”˜just in case,”™ which is a bad idea, as certain antibiotics change their chemical structure, becoming toxic.”
“Just like food, medicines have a shelf life, and there are expiration dates placed on the package for a good reason.”
The pharmacy, which Cloutier bought 2½ years ago, has nine employees. The store also offers a variety of personal and gift items. Her success in promoting these items was recognized when she was invited to speak at this fall”™s 11th annual convention and trade exposition of the National Community Pharmacists Association in Orlando. Her talk was devoted to marketing outreach to promote front end (nonpharmaceutical) products.
Right now, Cloutier is joining with other compounding pharmacists in a fight against legislation to severely limit access to personalized compounded medication. According to Cloutier, this legislation resulted from misconduct of a New England-based compounding organization. Claiming the legislation”™s passage in Albany would result in throwing the baby out with the bath water, compounding pharmacists are urging clients to go to the web site ProtectMyCompounds.com to learn how they can protect their rights to personalized medicine.
Cloutier resides in Warwick with her husband, David, an electro-mechanical engineer, and their three children: Benjamin, Juliette and Genevieve. Rounding out the family circle, Cloutier said, is a 20-year-old cat too lethargic to disturb the resident goldfish.
Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
