Like so many residents who owe a great deal of thanks to the wonderful folks at Vashon Pharmacy, I was disappointed to hear the news that VCC was terminating their business relationship. (The Beachcomber, March 7). I recently had the pleasure of working for four months as the primary charge nurse in the assisted living facility at VCC, and Tyler Young and I had spoken informally several times about the need for greater technological integration between the pharmacy and VCC. I know he had concrete plans and was committed to upgrading services. He should have at least been given a chance to complete his presentation.

That said, I must also point out that under the previous care center management, technological progress and process efficiencies had come to a complete standstill. One of the most daunting problems was the amount of time it took to manage the medication inventory. Managing incoming medications, refill requests and new orders were all manual systems requiring an irrational amount of the nurses’ time, stealing precious care and contact time away from the residents. This problem had been neglected for far too long and had become a safety issue. None of this problem is Vashon Pharmacy’s fault, but there simply was no more time to wait. Vashon Pharmacy may have been able to come up to the standard required, but I suggest the timeline would have been considerable.

There’s simply no arguing with the fact that Transforming Age brings a wealth of experience to the Center. They have seen these problems before, and they come packed with proven tools and methods that will rapidly accomplish much needed improvements in the way care is delivered and managed. That can only be good news for the residents, the ones who, at the end of the day, are the reason we do what we do.

— Antonio Christopher Dittmann,

RN B. Psych.