by Seth Humble, Web Content Specialist

If you find yourself driving along the sharp, direct route of Texas State Highway 181, through the Gulf Coastal Plains of the Lone Star State, you might just pass through Skidmore, Texas. It’s a small town that produced a shining personality, one of PCCA’s dedicated formulation specialists — Stacey Lemus. Stacey, a senior formulation specialist, has been a part of the PCCA family for eight years, but her connection to pharmacy goes back much further than that.

After finishing high school, Stacey attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She also got a job at Moore’s Pharmacy nearby. Though she started as a delivery driver, Stacey quickly moved into a pharmacy technician position, which she describes as fast-paced and demanding.

“I was training on the job from day one,” she says, smiling. “First, I got familiar with the different types of medications. I was always picking up new terminology, listening every time the pharmacist would counsel patients. They would explain to patients how to take their medication, what they were taking, precautions, all those kinds of things. It helped me learn so much about the patient side of pharmacy. But, of course, there were days when it was just pill counting.” She laughs, remembering. “Some days my pharmacist would just tell me, ‘Look, I’m going to throw these prescriptions at you quickly, and I just need you to type them in so we can keep up.’”

When I ask her to sum up the life of a pharmacy technician, she lets out a long hooting noise, then considers carefully, finally settling on a word: “Chaotic.”

She has a laugh at that, too.

It’s clear at the outset that Stacey is filled with happiness, and when I ask her about it, she tells me that she got married just over a month before our interview. It was the result of a serendipitous meeting. Though she and her now husband had both attended Texas A&M Kingsville, the two of them did not meet until after Stacey moved to Houston for her job at PCCA.

During her eight years of working here, she describes the experience as extremely rewarding: “The department I work in is grounded by collaboration. We trust one another, not just in Formulations, but in Clinical Services overall. We are like one big brain that everyone contributes to. Everyone comes with their own specializations, and that trust that surrounds everyone is what makes us great at what we do.”

“What makes the Formulations team special in your mind?” I ask.

“No one is afraid to ask questions,” she says. “No one is afraid to admit there is something they do not know, to make sure they ask someone who does know. Even a person with 20 years of experience doesn’t know everything, so that faith in each other is what makes Formulations special to me.”

One of the questions I typically ask in these interviews to open people up is, “Could you tell me the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?” When I ask Stacey, her eyes light up.

“Scotland.” She lifts her hands in excitement. “I have a picture that I just have to send you; it’s this historic place called the American Monument on the Oa Peninsula. It commemorates the loss of two troop ships in 1918. It overlooks the spot where the ships sank. Even though the rain was falling and it was a little cold, the greenery there is so beautiful. That’s where Alan proposed. It was very special.”

I pivot back to her time as a part of the PCCA Formulation Development department: “What makes your work meaningful to you?”

“So many things,” she says. “Working with Research and Development to develop a new base each year — you go through so many versions, and testing and testing, and verifying and verifying. That’s a massive undertaking for us every year, and we make sure that we get it right and test and verify that it is right before it ships out to anyone. I work with an amazing team of people who have real, firsthand experience in formulation development. That experience provides reassurance, synergy, especially the last few years. It feels like everyone is just locked into place, from R&D to marketing, I really feel like the formulas we test and develop are a part of something bigger, something that is about the highest quality a patient can receive.

“When I travel to our HRT symposiums in Las Vegas or Chicago, I see the member experience and the quality of the formulas we develop that directly helps their business and helps patients’ health challenges. Building long-lasting connections with our members is one of the most awesome parts of my job.”

“Building long-lasting connections with our members is one of the most awesome parts of my job.”

“What is something that you want people to know about your team?” I ask.

She considers for a moment. “When I was working at Moore’s, they were a PCCA member. I didn’t know that there was a Formulation Development or R&D department at PCCA. I knew about Clinical Services because we would talk to them all the time to help us with patient challenges, but I didn’t know that there was a formulations team that tested every single formula that PCCA provides. And now, that’s me. I’m a part of the team that tests every single formula we give access to. Being a part of that is so rewarding.”

“‘Rewarding’ — you keep using that word.” I let the comment hang, not so much a question but an invitation.

“My time at PCCA has been that. I’ve been able to grow in my profession from training seminars. I’ve been recognized and appreciated by the company. And that kind of growth is significant to anyone.”

This is Stacey Lemus.

A small-town girl who found her way to the big city of Houston, where she also found the love of her life and a career that fulfills her professional dreams. She has worked at PCCA for just about eight years, and from all the smiles and warm-hearted things she has to say about being a part of the vital work the Formulation Development team does, it certainly sounds like she’s here to stay. And PCCA couldn’t be happier about it.