Independent Insights, a Health Mart Podcast

Episode 17: From Aisles to Action: Welcoming Legislators into Your Pharmacy

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Ever wondered what it’s really like to invite and host a legislator at your Pharmacy?

In this episode of Independent Insights, we sit down with Shannon Tesini, a Certified Pharmacy Technician and passionate pharmacy advocate, to demystify the process of preparing for a legislative visit. Whether you're a technician, pharmacist, or pharmacy owner, Shannon shares what it takes to confidently represent your profession and your patients at the policy level.

You’ll learn:

  • What to expect before, during, and after a legislative meeting
  • How to prepare your message and make it personal and powerful
  • Tips for staying calm, clear, and confident—even if it’s your first time
  • Why advocacy isn’t just for pharmacists—and how technicians can lead the charge

If you’ve ever thought, “I care, but I don’t know where to start,” this episode is your roadmap to becoming a pharmacy advocate who makes a difference.

Host
Suzanne Feeney, PharmD
VP, Pharmacy Retail Operations
McKesson, Health Mart

Guests
Shannon Tesini, CPhT
Pharmacy Technician
McNabb Pharmacy

Resources
Tune into Episode 16: Creating Pharmacy’s Future where APhA President and Health Mart pharmacy owner Randy McDonough joins McKesson Health Mart’s Chief Pharmacist Nancy Lyons for a candid conversation about the urgent changes needed in pharmacy—and the bold vision that can lead us forward.

Health Mart Pharmacies can access Health Mart University (HMU) for:  

  • Helpful CE courses and more on pharmacy advocacy
  • Health Mart pharmacists to claim their CE credit for weekly GameChangers episodes  


The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of Health Mart, McKesson or its affiliates or subsidiaries ("McKesson”). The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute the rendering of clinical, legal or other professional advice by McKesson.

Suzanne: [00:00:00] Welcome to Idea Share 2025. I'm Suzanne Feeney and I am your host of our McKesson Health Mart Independent Insights podcast. I'm really excited to be here today. I am a pharmacist on the Health Mart team and recently the Senior Director of Pharmacy Solutions the Health Mart team. One of the key themes of this podcast is really idea sharing, and we bring new episodes each month, and I'm really excited today to be coming here live from Nashville 2025 with a recorded episode. And in today's episode, we are joined by Shannon Tesini, who is a certified pharmacy technician and really a passionate advocate for her community and for pharmacy technicians and pharmacy as a profession. Today we're gonna dive into how pharmacy teams can help prepare and host legislative visits in their pharmacies, which is really just such an important way to elevate our voices and advocate for the profession at the policy level.

So whether you're a technician, a pharmacist, or [00:01:00] pharmacy owner. You'll really walk away with some practical tips, and most importantly, some inspiration, I've had some prior conversations with Shannon, and it's just really inspiring to see how embedded her pharmacy is in the community. But we want all of you to be able to really confidently engage with lawmakers and represent your patients and your profession.

Are you looking for ideas to grow independent pharmacy and make a greater impact in your community? Look no further. Welcome to Independent Insights, the podcast brought to you by Health Mart. Episodes delve into a wide range of topics to provide you with the practical strategies, expert insights, and inspiring stories to help you and your pharmacy excel.

the views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Health Mart, McKesson, or its affiliates and subsidiaries (“McKesson”). The information provided is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, [00:02:00] legal, or any other type of professional advice from McKesson.

Pharmacists are expected to exercise reasonable care as dictated by legal and professional standards and are ultimately responsible for decisions related to patient care and medication management. It is your responsibility to review and comply with all applicable state and federal laws, rules, and regulations governing your business operations. This includes laws applicable to businesses in general, those pertinent to employers, and those specifically regulating the practice of pharmacy.​

Suzanne: So Shannon, welcome. Thank you so much for being here today. 

Shannon: Thank you so much. It's wonderful.

Suzanne: Good. How's the show been for you so far? 

Shannon: Oh, Nashville is wonderful. Yeah, and of course, McKesson ideaShare has been great. Yeah. Some of the CEs and meetings are just so informative. It's wonderful. 

Suzanne: Yeah. There's so many good CCEs. I had a hard time picking which ones to get to. I know there was one on medical billing today. I saw a couple others that looked really great. [00:03:00] Glad you've been having a good show. Before we dig in and talk a little bit about our topic, tell me about your journey, what inspired you to become a pharmacy technician?

Shannon: I have a kind of fun story. 

Suzanne: You do. 

Shannon: I actually went to school for teaching. And while I was in college, a part-time job that I had was working at a chain pharmacy. And actually the owner of the next town over independent pharmacy came in one day and was like, oh, you should really come check out my pharmacy sometime. I don't think he realized at the time that my parents actually had been filling at his pharmacy for years and years.

Suzanne: I didn't think I knew that. So your parents were patients there originally? 

Shannon: Yes. 

Suzanne: I love that.

Shannon: Exactly. So really neat. So I did, I went down and visited with him. He gave me a tour and the rest is history. So I worked with Terry McNabb, who was the owner at that point in time. For, oh my goodness, probably 15 years as the owner and like I said, [00:04:00] part-time going to school for teaching and when I graduated with my degree, I just decided that I loved Terry. He became a part of my family and ended up staying there and getting married and raising my children and working full time, and he just took me on as one of his own and I couldn't have imagined leaving and going anywhere else to do anything else. 

Suzanne: Yeah. I love that family atmosphere that's part of the independent world. I grew up working in an independent pharmacy as well. And the joke is I was doing it since, before I was born. 'cause my mom who was a nurse was pregnant with me and worked in the independent pharmacy and then I went on to work there. My brother went on to work there. So we have this strong history, and I totally get that. That family connection.

Shannon: And actually over time my mom works as a cashier there for several years. My niece worked there, my sister worked there. So it's really fun. Yeah. And then Terry had passed away like nine years ago. And his daughter Karen, ended up taking over the pharmacy, and she's been with me now because I actually have been there full [00:05:00] time longer than she has. But clearly she's been part of the pharmacy for a very long time. We're coming up, it'll be a hundred years that the pharmacy has been opened. 

Suzanne: Oh wow. Congratulations. 

Shannon: Yep. In 2028. So we're getting ready to plan our

Suzanne: Have a big celebration. 

Shannon: A big celebration. Exactly. 

Suzanne: And I'm sure you use that teaching background every day in the pharmacy, whether it's, helping to teach patients, practicing at the top of your license and in the services that you can provide helping train the staff, prepare for these legislative visits we're talking about.

I'm sure that comes in handy. 

Shannon: Absolutely. 

Suzanne: I would love just to tell our listeners a little bit about what your pharmacy does 'cause you're so embedded in the community and we'll talk about that, but from pharmacy services beyond dispensing, beyond the counter, there's so much that happens and just give us a little feel for everything that you do at the pharmacy. And it might be easier to talk about what you don't do 'cause I think you guys do everything. 

Shannon: We do a lot. It's, we have an amazing team. Yeah. And really everybody just works together. 

Suzanne: How big is the team? 

Shannon: We have there's about six we've three full-time pharmacists. 

Suzanne: Okay.

Shannon: We have three technicians [00:06:00] and then a couple of clerks. We hire a lot of students over like summer and things like that, so it's, yeah, it's awesome. And we do so many things. We have a DME separate building from the pharmacy next door where we do wheelchairs or leaders. We do a ton of incontinence supplies.

We do diabetic footwear. We do mastectomy fitting. We do a lot of stuff over there. And that's a separate building. It's nice because we just added on so that we can walk of through the alleyway. It's not attached, but it's, a couple steps outside. 

Suzanne: Real easy to get there. 

Shannon: Exactly. We do long-term care, so we have assisted living facilities that we do packaged medications for, we do a lot of home package fills for patients. We do medication delivery. Yeah, we go out, and we deliver there every single day to the patients and super convenient. Great for them that we're able to provide that service. Yeah. We also do compounding. Which is really beefed up the last couple of years. 

Suzanne: I hear there's a really big [00:07:00] need for compounding pharmacies. I've had some that are doing that tell me almost that they don't really do marketing for it because the word of mouth is just more than they can handle.

Shannon: Emily is one of our main pharmacists who handles the majority of the compounding. 

Suzanne: That might have to be another podcast episode.

Shannon: Emily would love to talk to you about, everything she does. She does tons of hormone

replacement therapies. Tons of like children's medications for kids with like G tubes and feeding tubes things like that. Yeah.

Suzanne: So you to patients traveling from very far.

Shannon: We do. Which is awesome and they are so appreciative of just the services that we provide and, yeah. The quickness of being able to get medications ready for patients. It's really awesome. 

Suzanne: Those are some really hard to find services. I live in a very urban area and I wouldn't even know where to go for some of the things you described. Which kind of leads us to our next question. From talking with you and getting to know you, you're pharmacy, McNabb Pharmacy is clearly a cornerstone of the community. So just share what that connection is like day to day in the pharmacy, because I think the atmosphere is something that, it's so genuine [00:08:00] and authentic and you really can't replicate that. And I think there's such a need for that and these independent pharmacies that are out there really are those cornerstone. So tell us a little bit about that. 

Shannon: It's so true. We're in a small town. It's incredible. We have the same customers sometimes that come in every day and, we do syncing medications and things like that, but there's some people that just, they're not willing to give up their trip into the pharmacy, 2, 3, 4 times a week, which is really special.

I am mostly in charge of doing immunizations and we built on a separate room a couple of years ago just for immunizations and for counseling, and it's incredible. Like I am, I don't like shots. Yeah. I was terrified to give immunizations. 

Suzanne: Oh, wow. 

Shannon: At the beginning of it all, I ended up getting certified during COVID. To be able to give them, and just the relationship with patients even with that. It's incredible. People that just trust you and they walk in and I have a gentleman who was so scared of coming in for [00:09:00] shots. Yeah. And it's, he was probably 60 so years old, but he, as time has gone on, like he comes in now and he laughs and he's not terrified. And it's incredible. And like I, children that I have, coming from young age now up, I have a little boy who was three when I first started, and he's five or six now. But he's comfortable when he comes in. Like just that connection that we have with people. And, families, again, we live in a small town. So we have, grandparents and parents and kids that all come in for their own different families. And it's just so awesome to have those connections and, people that I grew up with and then people who my children are friends with and their families and everybody knows everybody, they're comfortable. We flavor medications for children, so that's huge. You have a child who's sick and has to take nasty tasting medications.

Suzanne: And then if they spit it out, they're not getting the dose. And then I remember being that parent in the middle of the night and then you're like, oh, do I regive this?

What do I do? What do I do? 

Shannon: So we have a really cool flavor RX [00:10:00] machine, and it's just inside the pharmacy. So we have the kids come over and look at the machine and what type of flavor do you want? This is what they recommend and it's nice, I think for them to just be able to be part of that decision. I chose it. Hopefully I'm gonna like it, and I feel like they're a little more willing to take it.

Suzanne: A hundred percent. As a parent, I would love that. 

Shannon: Absolutely. It's incredible. A lot of connections across the board.

You're listening to Independent Insights, a McKesson Health Mart podcast with host Suzanne Feeney, Senior Director Pharmacy Solutions at McKesson Health Mart. And guest, Shannon Tesini, Certified Pharmacy Technician at McNabb Pharmacy.

Let's continue. 

Suzanne: This is exactly the type of environment where you want a legislator to come in and experience that 'cause it really is an experience. You can get a lot of your healthcare needs taken care of there in a way that's supportive. And like you said, helping people be more comfortable and taking ownership at a young age even of their healthcare, so I love [00:11:00] that you all put yourself out there and are comfortable hosting these visits. And I know we have listeners here who maybe don't even know the first place to start or who have never really hosted a legislator at their pharmacy. So just high level share what that has looked like for your pharmacy and talk a little bit about what the experience has been like.

Shannon: Yeah. So we actually had McKesson reached out to our pharmacy, I believe it was Brian Bells and his group had reached out to us about hosting the legislator that we had come in. 

Suzanne: And you were like, no, thank you. 

Shannon: We were kinda like, oh boy, what do we do to prepare for this? But it's great to have that and for them to come in and be excited to learn about what we do we have lots of things going on in our town right now with school funding and state funding and budgets and whatnot. And actually a couple weeks before he was scheduled to come in, we had a school committee meeting and he was actually there supporting the schools and trying to figure out budgeting and things so it was really neat to have him come into the pharmacy [00:12:00] and be like, oh, hey. Wow. We were just talking with you about the things that are so important to the community. And now to have you here on the pharmacy side too is amazing. Just to realize that he's fighting for things that are so important for all of us in so many different aspects, which is just wonderful.

Suzanne: Was there hesitation maybe when, you had to ask, hey this is a pharmacy that legislators really need to see and experience. Was there that initial hesitation and maybe how did you and the team really overcome that? Because I think everybody that I've talked to that's done this thinks oh, my pharmacy we're just doing what everybody does or what would they get out of this? And I can tell you from being on those visits, it's so personalized and it's just a really great thing to experience. And typically what I tell pharmacies is, just, do what you do every day. And that's what people need to see and experience and understand when they think of a pharmacy.

Shannon: It was very similar to that. It was oh geez, when are we gonna have 'em coming? Are we gonna be prepared and are we gonna have the extra staff? To be able to step aside and make sure that we're, spending time and explain things [00:13:00] to him and talking about some of the issues that we're facing. So that was a big thing, trying to just make sure that there, Karen McNabb, who is the owner of our pharmacy, wanted to make sure that she was gonna have the time to really spend and ask questions and do all that so making sure that there's an extra pharmacist on staff. And then just preparing, what questions we have and getting an idea of what direction he goes in for different policies and things like that. What is he looking to fight for us and what things is he involved in to make sure that we're on the same page and asking the right questions. Of course, making sure that everything is clean and tidy and as things are in their place. Of course. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, just having the list of questions ready. I laughed because I had said, I had a whole sheet of questions and things that I wanted to tell him when he came and he popped into my immunization room and we ended up talking about the things going on with the school budget and, it's funny, he actually, when he stepped into the pharmacy, he had [00:14:00] recalled being a child coming into our pharmacy and getting a pair of ice skates. Oh. Terry McNabb, the owner was very involved in our local town hockey league, and he always had skates and sticks and all sorts of things like that down in the basement. And yeah, when he, when Senator Cornin came in and he was like, oh my gosh, I remember coming here as a kid and going downstairs and getting a pair of skates. So yeah, so just really funny connections like that. And then just having him see the extent of the pharmacy world that you don't realize and how hard we fight for patients to be able to stay at home and, deliver medications and get the different things that they need at home, rather than having to be in a hospital or skilled nursing facility. There's a lot of things in our community that we're able to provide for patients at home. And it's just taking the time and finding the resources to provide those different things. It's important and I think sometimes people don't really think about the whole big picture of it [00:15:00] all. We have a senior center in our town that is incredible. And we have a really good relationship with them too, with just making sure that people get what they need. 

Suzanne: And that just paints the image of what community pharmacy can look like and what we want to fight for, to keep in our communities. And I just applaud all of you for being willing to have those visits and bring legislators into your pharmacy to see and experience that. Because it is just a vital cornerstone of the community and in so many ways, immunizations, to hockey skates.

Shannon: Exactly. And just taking the time. It really is so important in our world of pharmacy. Gosh, we are so busy. Every day doing the things we do. But just taking that time, making the connection it's important. It really is. 

Suzanne: And we were just talking before the podcast, as you age and life gets harder and there's, things that happen within healthcare to our loved ones, to our friends, to ourselves, and to be able to go into a comfortable community location with people, when you're, facing hardships and picking up medications [00:16:00] for new diagnoses or treating illness like just to have that familiar face. I value that so much more as I age and also being there for the happy moments. But I think that's really important because it can be really stressful when you're facing a new diagnosis or a chronic illness. And to be able to have someone who knows your health history you're comfortable with and you can, share questions and experiences. I think that's a big part of healthcare.

Shannon: It is it's huge. You become a part of these people's lives, which is just incredible you really do, like you said, from, happy births and marriages and things like that from people that you've seen grow up, to, the unfortunate different things too, but I just feel like because we have the connection with those patients they're comfortable talking to you about it and going through things and it's special.

Suzanne: It is. 

Shannon: It really is. 

Suzanne: Yeah. And I remember, I think it was the prior surgeon general talked a lot about like loneliness as an epidemic and social isolation. And when I hear you talk, I'm like, this is a place where, people are coming in multiple times because they need that connection and that really is part of our healthcare journey. [00:17:00] So I think that's something that's also really powerful to highlight on these visits that there's a place for technology in the world for sure. You have to have that community touch and that care. Okay. I think you've shared a lot of memorable stories and these impactful outcomes from legislators. Any, final words of wisdom or tips for our listeners out there who maybe are thinking to themselves, is there value in hosting a visit?

There's a lot of things that we can put our time and energy into should this be one of them? Or just, that first step can be really hard to overcome. I know we're in the summer season now, which is typically when our legislators are out in their home districts and are, able to get some visits.

And sometimes that happens last minute. Sometimes the dates get changed. I think my words of wisdom would be flexible. Don't put too much pressure on yourself because they want to experience what you're doing every day. It doesn't have to be something different or magical, it's just the day to day.

So those are my two pearls is be flexible, be yourself, be authentic.

Shannon: And don't go into it being scripted. 

Suzanne: Yes. 

Shannon: And I think that's the biggest thing. Like I said, I had my list of questions and [00:18:00] talking points and I didn't get to any of them.

But to have those couple of minutes of just talking to him as a person, really helping him to understand what we deal with every day and they don't really know unless we tell them. And that's the biggest thing is that we need to just, we need to reach out and and emailing them different things and keeping them in the loop of what's going on is so important.

And I think that they're appreciative of it they want to know. 

Suzanne: Yes. 

Shannon: And it is so important and it's really not as stressful as you think it's gonna be.

Suzanne: It's not. It's fun. 

Shannon: It is, do it. You get the word out and you realize that you have different connections, like I said with him different things that we never would have thought of or known. They're gonna keep that little piece of our pharmacy with them. And just make it more personal for their fight, which is incredible. 

Suzanne: It really is. It really is. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and the story and highlighting your pharmacy.

I just appreciate your insights and your experiences [00:19:00] and I know our listeners do too. So I thank you so much for coming today. Your passion for advocacy and the professional pharmacy and the community independent pharmacy is just palpable. So I really like that. I know our listeners are gonna walk away with feeling more empowered to take that first step with their legislators and for those tuning in remember I think that your voice matters whether you're a technician, a pharmacist, or pharmacy owner. Inviting a legislator to your pharmacy is truly a powerful way to show the impact of community care. If you're looking for tools, templates, or support to get started with this, you can check out some of the resources that we have here at McKesson Health Mart.

And for everyone out there, don't forget to subscribe to Health Mart Independent Insights a McKesson podcast, so you won't miss an episode. Thanks again for tuning in Live from Nashville at ideaShare. And until next time, keep advocating, keep innovating, and keep making a difference in your communities.

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