School of Pharmacy Alumna Builds Proactive Practice on Gulf Coast
Baggett serves community by anticipating patient needs
OXFORD, Miss. – A couple of months before graduating as part of the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy’s Class of 2020, Amy Catherine Baggett was working at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. She distinctly remembers the hospital’s first patient to be diagnosed with COVID-19, in those early days of what would become a global pandemic.
“It was surreal. We didn’t know what this thing called COVID was or how it might affect our families and friends and communities,” Baggett said. “This was in the early days before there was a widely available vaccine and people were afraid. It was a scary time, but I’m glad I was able to help people in that unprecedented time of need.”
Following her graduation, Baggett spent two years in Florida, first completing a community-based residency and then a fellowship through Palm Beach Atlantic University and Atlantis Pharmacy. She gained experience in contracting, promoting pharmacy services and closing gaps in patient care.
The timing shaped her training. Her residency took place during the pandemic, when her team had to build processes quickly to meet demand once vaccines became available and to handle medications authorized for emergency use.
“I feel like I was thrown into the fire,” Baggett said. “But I learned to stand up a program, have it run well and use what we learned to implement things quickly.”
When a network facilitator role became available in Mississippi, Baggett took it and moved back to her native Gulf Coast. She said the network has since grown into well-oiled programs and a sustainable system.
Since 2022, Baggett has worked at Love’s Pharmacy in Diamondhead, where she is the primary pharmacist. Her father, Russell Love, is also an Ole Miss pharmacy graduate and helped guide his daughter through building out the pharmacy.
“School prepared me for the clinical side of the job, but running a business is another matter.” Baggett said. “You can’t fully prepare for the financial responsibilities and what it takes to run a pharmacy until you get into the day-to-day and do it. I’m fortunate because my father has done this for many years and has been a great resource for me.”
Baggett’s schedule varies. One day she may fill prescriptions or provide immunizations at the pharmacy bench, and the next she may strategize workflow operations to help layer clinical programs within the medication synchronization backbone. Other days she helps implement those programs and ensures the medications and services are delivered.
What sets her pharmacy apart, she said, is its proactive approach. Rather than waiting for a prescription from a provider or for a patient to walk in, her team reaches out three to four days ahead to see what patients need, either in the pharmacy or through telehealth, helping better streamline the pharmacy’s workflow.
Baggett credits Ole Miss for providing outstanding educational and professional resources, and for highlighting community pharmacy as a valid career path. Her advice to current students is to get involved with organizations and take advantage of the resources while exploring opportunities to care for patients.
“The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, and there are lots of opportunities with community-based pharmacies to help people,” Baggett said. “I enjoy sharing my experiences with students, and I always tell them that pharmacy is a great route and they should go for it.”