Tony Felix, RPh
Pharmacy Director, El Rio Health Center
Tony Felix is practicing his profession now in the same community health center where he was hired as a high school student during a summer work program, El Rio Health Center, which has been providing accessible and affordable health care to low-income patients for more than three decades.
Explaining that mission to student pharmacists doing clerkships at El Rio and “how the humanitarian aspect relates to pharmacy” is a privilege, Felix says. The community health center boasts the first pharmacist in Arizona licensed to prescribe medications, invites students to participate in pharmacy committee meetings and provides a wealth of learning experiences for College of Pharmacy students.
“The College of Pharmacy is a very dynamic, forward-thinking institution,” says Felix, a 1977 alumnus. “The rotation experiences especially offer students opportunities to interact in a very direct way with the profession, to get the flavor of all the different ways community health center pharmacists serve.”
Before returning to El Rio, Felix spent several years working in California and Arizona in retail pharmacy and he enjoyed that role, too. Community health centers offer different kinds of professional satisfaction, he says.
“Here, it’s about enhancing the development of a healthcare system to serve the underserved, meeting the challenge to provide pharmaceuticals to patients in need and the privilege of working with a caring and professional staff. Pharmacists can truly make a difference.”
Tony Felix was voted College of Pharmacy Preceptor of the Year by graduating students in 2004.