When Did Delaware’s ‘Pharmacist Of The Year’ Last Fill A Prescription?

No, acting as a guest Pill Pusher at raves doesn’t count.

Here’s what we know:  First, she’s been State Auditor for three years now.  Does/did she have a side gig?  Unlikely.

Here’s what you may not know:  McGuiness sold her pharmacy in, wait for it, 2002.  2002. We’re talking pre-Park City.  She then went into real estate.  My source?  This fawning piece, which must have been dictated by McGuiness herself.  If you’ve been trying to vomit, but have been unable to do so, this will provide that catharsis for you. Excerpts:

She initially worked for Edgehill Pharmacy, but Kathy, a born entrepreneur, quickly decided to purchase Rehoboth Pharmacy in downtown Rehoboth Beach.It was here she realized that she could positively impact our community by becoming involved in local government and the business community.

With the thought of creating a flourishing year-round downtown, Kathy, along with several other community and business owners, founded Rehoboth Beach Main Street in 1996. In fact Kathy was the organizations Founding President. The mission of this organization was clear: focus on creating an inviting and booming year-round downtown economy.

In 2002, Kathy sold the pharmacy to a young couple, and decided to enter the world of real estate. However, the retail “bug” bit her again and in 2003, she opened a boot company called The Bootlegger on Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth Beach. She continued to sell real estate and operate the retail store for some time, but her young growing family ultimately became her focus (as did the inviting slopes of Park City).

Currently, she still sells real estate as an agent for Jack Lingo REALTOR and is a part-time registered pharmacist.

This article was written in 2015.  Did she do ‘Guest Pharmacist’ spots on demand?  The, well it’s not an article, profile doesn’t say.

Whoa: Here’s something you likely didn’t know:

Throughout Kathy’s life, she has been interested in affecting change through politics. In fact, she was in the student government in high school and in 1985 she was in a Cape Henlopen High School singing and dancing group called “Spirit” that toured the country promoting First Lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign.

At one of these events, she landed on stage with seventeen First Ladies who further inspired the then teenage Kathy’s desire to become actively involved in her community.During her tenure at Cape she was very involved in sports playing basketball and cheerleading. She was also Miss Cape Henlopen.

Man, nothing says ‘affecting change’ more than this resume.  I swear, I swear, that this is not satire.

Let’s fast-forward to that breathless prose accompanying KMG’s anointment as Delaware Pharmacist Of The Year:

“It is an honor to be presented with the Pharmacist of the Year Award,” said McGuiness. “This past year has truly highlighted the role pharmacists play as a resource to a community’s health and I am proud to work alongside so many talented, caring individuals.”

Except–she didn’t work alongside these individuals, at least not in a pharmacy.. She was the State Auditor, has been since she was sworn in back in 2019.

McGuiness, a licensed immunizing pharmacist and the highest state-elected pharmacist in the country, has released three special reports so far on the impact that PBMs are having in Delaware. These reports – titled “Lack of Transparency & Accountability in Drug Pricing Could be Costing Taxpayers Millions”, “Millions in Pharmaceutical Savings are Achievable Within Delaware’s Correctional Facilities Without Compromising Service”, and “Predatory Practices: Survey Says Middlemen Destroying Delaware’s Independent Pharmacies” – have garnered national attention and helped to shine a light on how PBMs have overcharged Delaware taxpayers by millions of dollars.

Is this mic on?  Every pharmacist in Delaware is a licensed immunizing pharmacist.  Many pharmacy technicians are also licensed to provide immunizations.  The only difference between McGuiness and the other pharmacists and pharmacy techs is that they provided shots in 2019, 2020, and 2021.  McGuiness didn’t.  She was, you know, the State Auditor.

In fact, reading through the puff pieces that might as well have been dictated by KMG, we have no proof that she has practiced pharmacy since 2002, when she sold her pharmacy.  None.  I invite KMG or her remaining sycophants to prove me wrong.  Show me exactly when and where she has filled prescriptions since then.

So, you might ask, why was she named Delaware’s Pharmacist Of The Year even though she’s not a practicing pharmacist (slipping the occasional blue pill to Ernie Lopez or a retired state cop doesn’t count)?

The answer is right there. As State Auditor, she devoted considerable resources to three, count ’em, three ‘special reports’ addressing pricing in the pharmaceutical industry.  None, count ’em, none of those special reports remotely fell under the purview of the charges and responsibilities of the State Auditor’s office. 

But those three reports, written to spec for independent pharmacies in particular, explain why she received this award.

She received the award for the year 2020.  2020 may well have been the most challenging year for pharmacists in recent history.  Since every pharmacist is indeed a licensed immunizing pharmacist, Delaware pharmacists and their staff administered literally hundreds of thousands of COVID-related shots in addition to trying to keep up with filling prescriptions, giving non-COVID-related shots, and continuing to do more while the chains cut staffing hours.

Meaning, there was no one less deserving in the entire state of Delaware of receiving this award than Kathleen McGuiness. 

Were I a dues-paying member of the Delaware Pharmacist Society (BTW, just a little tidbit, three legislators have received the ‘Friend Of Pharmacy’ award in recent years: Bryon Short, Andria Bennett, and Lumpy Carson), I would resign in protest. After encouraging my fellow professionals to resign as well.

What a disgrace.