5/31/2023 0 Comments Newton kansan drug testing![]() “We’d just wake up and go to work and stay there till we couldn’t stay awake and come home,” she said. Kueker said for these staff members, they’d have rather seen the patients in the vaccine line than in the hospital. Two part-time staff members, Rebecca Charlsen and Abbie Hoefling, are respiratory therapists and worked on COVID-19 wings of local hospitals. Kueker said between regular hours and volunteering to provide vaccines, some staff members were working 60 hours a week when the pharmacy would run clinics. With a need for manpower, staff and the community stepped up. Son, Joey does some driving for the pharmacy and works as a technician when he’s not attending Hesston High School. She owns and works the pharmacy with her husband, Adam. “We’re literally a mom and pop and kid pharmacy.” “We were worried about how we’d have the manpower,” she said. In two days, the pharmacy had all its slots filled for its large-scale clinic. So, the pharmacy turned to social media, as well as news organizations. “We found out after we said yes, we were going to be restricted to do 65 and above,” she said. “Initially, we thought we could move that tray for manufacturing.” “The feds came in the first week and they asked if there were any pharmacies that could accept a tray of 1,170 doses,” she said. Soon after, it got a request from the federal government. It applied to provide vaccines distributed from the state and vaccines distributed from federal programs. The pharmacy was already a COVID-19 testing location. “Months ago, we decided that at Hesston Pharmacy and Harvey Drug, we were going to schedule with the state and fed,” she explained. Out of the thousands of chain pharmacies in Kansas, with many operating in populous cities, Kueker was asked how exactly her family-owned small pharmacy came out on top. Harvey County ranks 10 th in the state of Kansas with 387 out of 1,000 residents have received at least one vaccine. When it’s your turn, you step up and do what you can do.” It was our turn to step up and help our community. “We just love our community,” owner Sandie Kueker said. For context, that’s about 1,000 fewer doses than the Harvey County Health Department has provided and nearly 1,000 more vaccines than the next closest pharmacy on the list. The pharmacy, run by the Kueker family of Hesston, has provided more than 6,100 vaccines, the most of any pharmacy in the state of Kansas. No pharmacy in the state of Kansas has done more to vaccinate its community than Hesston Pharmacy/Harvey Drug. The local pharmacy and its two locations rank top among state pharmacies for the number of vaccines distributed. Sandie and Joey Kueker discuss Harvey Drug/Hesston Pharmacy's vaccination efforts during a press conference with the Harvey County Health Department.
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