Meet Richard Cox, HOPE’s Director of Pharmaceutical Services
- HOPE Family Health
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
By Liz Ferrell, Development & Community Outreach Specialist
Richard Cox, Director of Pharmacy Services at HOPE Family Health, is one of the most revered staff members at HOPE. “Pharmacy king. UT fan. Lawn care legend. Possibly divine,” read the greeting card he received at a recent all-staff meeting. It’s a pretty good description of how Richard’s pharmacy staff and other HOPE coworkers regard him.
A longtime Lafayette resident, Richard was married to the late Delaine Cox and has two adult children: daughter Savanna and son Grayson, both of whom live in Macon County. And he does enjoy yardwork, farming, reading, and spending time with family. But though his innate modesty would have him deny it, Richard is a natural leader. Because along with his love for “dad” jokes and the University of Tennessee, Richard brings a steadying hand, an analytical mind, a level head, and unimpeachable integrity to HOPE’s Administrative Team and to his fiercely loyal pharmacy team.
Richard’s Background
Richard grew up in nearby Gallatin and graduated from Gallatin High School, living in the Sumner County seat until age 25. His mother, a nurse at Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin, talked often of the pharmacists she worked with. Then, as now, pharmacists ranked high on the list of most trusted professions, and Richard came to realize the crucial role that pharmacy professionals play in healthcare. Thus inspired, Richard completed the four-year Doctorate in Pharmacy program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, the only pharmacy school in the state at that time.
Like any discipline, pharmacy offers a variety of career paths. Richard chose to pursue retail pharmacy and began his professional career working for Walmart Pharmacy in Gallatin. In 1999 he met and married Delaine and transferred to the Walmart Pharmacy in Lafayette, her hometown. Early in his career Richard learned that he found the most fulfillment in taking care of patients, including friends and family.
But he also mastered less enjoyable aspects of the job, such as dealing with insurance companies. “There was a lot more of that involved with the job than I realized when I was in school!” Richard recalls. His mastery of pharmacy operations came in good stead when, in 2008, he moved to Fred’s Pharmacy to serve as pharmacy manager for several years.
Then a friend who worked as a provider at HOPE approached him. HOPE was wanting to establish a pharmacy program, and his friend asked if he would be interested in serving as HOPE’s Director of Pharmaceutical Services. He was.
“I was intrigued by the idea of starting a program from scratch and building it from the ground up,” Richard says. “That was a draw, and also, being able to work in a clinic with providers was something I wanted to do.” He joined HOPE in February 2016.
Richard’s first impression of HOPE was that it was different from any other organization he’d ever worked for. “And I mean that in a good way!” he says. The family-type atmosphere, the work ethic, an atmosphere that encourages teamwork, the genuine care for patients, the fact that HOPE is faith-based – all these values drew Richard to HOPE and have kept him here.
Richard has seen many changes come to HOPE in the nine years since he founded and built The Pharmacy at HOPE.
“HOPE has grown tremendously. We had 40 to 50 employees when I started,” he says. “We had already expanded to using the entire HOPE Westmoreland building, which we were still leasing. Since then we’ve purchased that building, added imaging and mammography and a mobile unit, opened the HOPE Gallatin facility, and have a staff of nearly 100.”
Richard played a key role in implementing some of those changes. After joining the HOPE Family Richard became a member of the Admin Team in addition to serving as director of what is now known as “the Pharmily.” In addition to overseeing the growth of the pharmacy program, Richard has sometimes worn other hats, including managing the American Rescue Plan – Capital grant that funded renovations to the main building and the addition of mammography services for patients. But The Pharmacy at HOPE remains closest to his heart.
Though Richard’s initial vision was simply to build the best pharmacy program he could, he found his vision expanding when growth opportunities came along. In particular, a grant from United Health Foundation allowed HOPE to start its clinical pharmacy program, a step that has resulted in tremendous growth for the pharmacy program.
HOPE was already participating in the 340B Program to a limited extent but was looking to expand that by adding an in-house pharmacy. “When I came to HOPE I’d never heard of the 340B Program,” he recalls. While interviewing for the position, he signed up with Apexus, the primary vendor for the 340B Program, which provides education about 340B to healthcare professionals – pharmacists, providers, anyone whose job is related to the 340B Program.
In layman’s terms, the 340B Program is a drug-pricing program established by Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act of 1992, designed to stretch federal dollars to reach more patients and provide more comprehensive services. The program provides a discount to certain organizations – including Federally Qualified Health Centers like HOPE – for medications that meet the program’s criteria. That discount can be used to help make patient medications more affordable or to expand and support other services that would not be available without the 340B Program. Additionally, HOPE contracts with numerous other area pharmacies to provide 340B-eligible medications to their customers, as well.
Today The Pharmacy at HOPE employees five pharmacists (including three clinical pharmacists), seven pharmacy technicians, and a pharmacy intern. They fill over 5,000 prescriptions each month and provide a significant percentage of HOPE’s revenue.
Going forward, Richard would like to see HOPE achieve sustainable growth with its various grant programs to ensure those programs are not solely dependent on grant funds. “It’s important for HOPE to continue to grow and provide more services to more people,” he says. “I feel like HOPE makes a difference in patients’ lives on a daily basis, whether it’s diagnosing breast cancer early, or helping patients afford their meds, or someone struggling with emotional needs.”
Richard would like the public to know that HOPE’s mission is patient-driven. “We genuinely try to take good care of our patients,” he says. “I like HOPE’s philosophy of integrated care with all departments – medical, behavioral health, pharmacy, imaging, chronic care – everybody working together to meet each patient’s individual care needs.”
Richard also encourages patients to seek out the personal touch that HOPE so willingly offers. “Form a good relationship with your pharmacist so they can be familiar with your medical history and medications, and can help you with medication management. Your pharmacist is an important member of your care team,” he says. “That’s why we have clinical pharmacists to work with our medical and behavioral health providers – to make sure patients are getting what they need, and to try to help you find a way to afford those vital medications.”
Richard still finds his work deeply satisfying. “The integrated care was one of the things that drew me to HOPE,” he says. “I never thought an opportunity like this would ever exist in rural Middle Tennessee. I never dreamed a program like this would come available so close to home.”
HOPE is glad to have you, Richard Cox.
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