Baptist Health celebrates opening of Central Pharmacy Services Center in Oldham County
LA GRANGE, Ky (June 17, 2024) — Community officials joined with Baptist Health leaders Wednesday morning to celebrate the opening of the new high-tech Central Pharmacy Services Center, which will serve as a medication hub for all nine of the healthcare system’s hospitals.
The $40 million investment creates 200 jobs, housed in a newly constructed 102,000-square-foot facility on the Baptist Health La Grange campus. Operations begin this month.
One of the first autonomous pharmacy centers in the country, the space includes a warehouse optimized with robotic infrastructure to fill up to 14,000 prescriptions per 10-hour production shift. It also includes an office space where dedicated pharmacy staff will provide support to hospitals or directly with patients by working with insurance companies, drug manufacturers and patient assistance programs to secure patient medications at a more affordable price along with individualized medical counseling.
Gerard Colman, Baptist Health CEO, explained how the innovation will better serve patients.
“We didn't figure it out from the traditional designs. We went to industry experts in logistics and supply chain,” Colman said. “We went to Amazon, our very own UPS right here in Kentucky, we went through all of these folks to find out what's the best way for us to design and build the state-of-the-art pharmacy operation of the future.”
Baptist Health is the largest healthcare system in Kentucky, and Eric Friedlander, Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, reiterated the impact the facility will have on the health and well-being of communities throughout the state.
“You all in the Baptist system always pay attention to quality. You’ve done that and demonstrated that over and over again. I want to say on behalf of the state of Kentucky, thank you. You all make a difference,” said Sec. Friedlander.
In addition to the health and economic impact, the Baptist Health Central Pharmacy Services Center will benefit local students. Baptist Health and Oldham County Schools are partnering to create a program allowing students to prepare for pharmacy technician certification at the Arvin Education Center while gaining hands-on training in the Central Pharmacy Service Center. Arvin Center juniors will begin by taking introduction to healthcare classes, students can then choose to focus on pharmacy as seniors and begin a work-study program with Baptist Health.
Jason Radford, Superintendent of Oldham County Schools, said the unique educational opportunity will allow students to get a head start on a rewarding career in a growing field.
“Our partnership with Baptist Health is strong and this new facility will grow the opportunities for our students. Currently, we partner with Baptist Health for a variety of things that benefit our students as well as our staff,” Dr. Radford said. “We look forward to the students in our biomedical sciences pathway benefiting from the opportunities this facility will provide.”
Baptist Health has been invested in Oldham County and the surrounding area for more than 30 years, operating Oldham County’s only hospital, Baptist Health La Grange. The Central Pharmacy Services Center is one of the system’s major expansion projects in the area.
The expansion plans also created new services at Baptist Health La Grange, including a specialized pain management clinic which opened earlier this year. Later this month, the hospital will open its new Behavioral Health inpatient unit, bringing needed mental health resources to Oldham, Henry, and Trimble County.
Most notably, Baptist Health’s expansion in the area includes a new hospital campus and healthcare community in Crestwood.