Alumni Spotlight: Brianne Spaeth ’08, PharmD

Feb. 14, 2023
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Brianne Spaeth

“Treat your patients just like a family member.”

Words Brianne Spaeth, PharmD, is the owner of Desert Life Pharmacy in the SaddleBrooke community north of Tucson.

Throughout her nearly 18-year pharmacy career, Spaeth ‘08 has strived to ensure her patients are at the heart of the care she provides.

And it shows.

Awards hung on the wall are proof of how she and her small team of pharmacists are making a difference. The Arizona Daily Star awarded her with Best Drug Store/Pharmacy in 2021 and 2022. The Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke recognized her with the Business Person of the Year Award for 2020-2021.   

One award she is particularly proud of is the Civic Leader Award given to her by the SaddleBrooke Ranch community for administering COVID-19 vaccinations.

Spaeth opened her pharmacy in February 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic. As a new business owner, she was undeterred by the lockdown and got to work.

“I function well adapting to situations. I thought to myself, ‘OK, how are we going to do this?’” she said. “We started doing free delivery in the neighborhood and free curbside pickup. I never thought I would sell toilet paper, but we did.”

As the pandemic and lockdown wore on, she noticed one of her regular patient’s demeanor had changed. Spaeth said the patient’s wife died at the beginning of the pandemic and she noticed the pandemic isolation was causing him undue stress.

She wanted to help her community and contacted Pinal County about the vaccine. She was able to get certified as one of the first pharmacies to get and administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We got the Moderna vaccine right off the bat,” she said.

Together with a non-profit organization in SaddleBrooke and a group of volunteers, she held drive through clinics every Saturday. In total, she said more than 25,000 shots were administered.

Spaeth’s path to pharmacy began at Arizona State University. She did her undergraduate studies in biology and was a researcher in the plant biology department until realizing she needed a change. 

“I didn’t think research was my thing because I like to interact with others and the lab wasn’t the environment for a lot of that,” she said. “So I applied to pharmacy schools around the country and got into the U of A.”

As a student, she didn’t know what path to take with pharmacy. She said drug design and learning about how drugs work was of interest to her, but her choice was clear when she started working in retail pharmacy.

“I really enjoy patient relationships,” she said. “And forming these relationships is something I’ve worked on my entire career because it all contributes to a better healthcare experience for patients.”

Over the course of her career as a retail pharmacist, she strived to maintain relationships with her patients but would find it challenging as she would often move from one store location to another.

“I needed to have my own location,” she said.  

From Big Box to Small Business Owner

Spaeth worked in retail pharmacy for 15 years, but she had always wanted to own a pharmacy. She just needed a push in the right direction.

She connected with the National Community Pharmacists Association, an organization representing more than 19,400 pharmacies that employ over 240,000 individuals nationwide, to learn more about starting her own business.

“There is a lot of value in having an independent pharmacy versus working in a big box retail store. You get to have that close knit relationship with your patients, provide better care, and be your own boss,” she said.

Today, she is sharing her knowledge and expertise with R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy students as a preceptor.

Her goal for the students who do their rotation with her is the “aha” moment. She serves as the safety net but leaves it up to the students to “be the pharmacist.”

One of her students had taken the initiative to call a doctor about a drug prescription. The student made a recommendation, and the doctor accepted it. 

“He had his ‘aha’ moment and was so excited,” Spaeth said. “It was his realization that he can do this. ‘I can become a pharmacist.’”  

Not only does she maintain relationships with her patients, she also stays connected with her students.

“I like to see where they’re going and all the neat things they’re going to do,” she said. “I’ve had great preceptors who passed on their knowledge to me and it’s nice to be in this role and share knowledge with future pharmacists.”