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Karen McConnell’s dad didn’t mince words. The now system vice president (SVP) for pharmacy enterprise and chief pharmacy officer at CommonSpirit Health—the largest Catholic hospital system and the second-largest nonprofit system in the US—had only one way to make it out of her humble Missouri upbringing.
“I was in third grade and I told my father, a farmer, that I wanted to go to college,” McConnell recalls. “Nobody in my family had gone to college. He said, ‘Well, you better be the valedictorian, because there’s no way I can pay for that.’”
McConnell accepted the challenge and made it happen. She graduated as her high school’s valedictorian. Scholarships and her own earning power paid for 100 percent of her schooling. After making it through pharmacy school, the path before her seemed clear.
“At the time there was a massive pharmacist shortage, and retail pharmacies were offering signing bonuses that amounted to brand-new cars,” McConnell remembers. “When I told my dad I was going to make $25,000 a year as a resident instead, he thought I was nuts.” But at this point, McConnell’s father must have understood that his daughter had a plan.
The pharmacist’s second residency eventually earned her a spot at Kaiser Permanente, where McConnell would spend nearly 15 years. She spent the bulk of that time in cardiology pharmacy roles.
McConnell became the right hand to dozens of cardiologists who knew the pharmacist’s skill and commitment to her job. They would call her specifically about their patients. Her success was an early sign of a leader in the making. The pharmacist knew how to cultivate meaningful relationships and had the deep expertise to back up her practice.
In 2017, McConnell joined Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) as the system director of clinical pharmacy services. In 2019, CHI merged with Dignity Health to become CommonSpirit Health, and McConnell started also leading pharmacy contracting. In 2021, she earned her MBA. She assumed her current role in May 2021 and says the scope of her position is big.
“We have 140 hospitals in the system and 2,200 clinics in 24 states,” McConnell explains. “I don’t believe in being one of those leaders who sits in their ivory tower. I want to hear firsthand how our team can help our sites. I can’t form an effective strategy that helps people if I’m not connecting with them. Needless to say, I’m on the road.”
McConnell’s first mission when she started her job was to lead the creation of a new system medication formulary, even though many told her it was probably impossible. An interdisciplinary team successfully created the formulary and then reevaluated it after the merger to ensure it met the needs of the entire health system. Today the formulary has a 98 percent adherence rate.
“There was so much teamwork and persistence that went into the CommonSpirit formulary process,” McConnell says. “I’m just so proud we were able to make it happen.”
The teamwork that goes into pulling off CommonSpirit Health’s initiatives often extends beyond its walls to partners like FFF Enterprises, Inc. “We are grateful for our relationship with Karen McConnell and CommonSpirit Health. Karen McConnell’s leadership has driven numerous initiatives that have significantly enhanced patient outcomes and streamlined operational efficiency,” says Patrick M. Schmidt, chief executive officer at FFF Enterprises, Inc. “Together, we are committed to providing innovative and reliable patient care to ensure their patients receive the best care they deserve.”
Next up for the SVP? Her organization will focus on process innovation within the various aspects of pharmacy. Additionally, her team is implementing projects for medication safety, clinical pharmacy services, and thoughtful standardization. She expressed much appreciation for the work the pharmacy teams across the system do every day to care for patients.
The cost to creating systemic change is that McConnell doesn’t have the time to clinically focus on individual patients anymore. But those patients drive her daily actions.
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“One of the reasons I got this role was because of my extensive clinical experience working with patients,” the SVP explains. “We make patient-first decisions here. This is a system that provides $2 billion a year in charity care. We take care of the patients who may struggle to find care anywhere else. Whatever we do, and however we’re looking to optimize our spend, it’s all with the mindset of making sure patients get the care they need and deserve.”
As a senior leader, McConnell is willing to provide some pointers for those future healthcare and pharmacy leaders. First, if you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t expect anyone else to. It’s the same passion that sparked a young farmer’s daughter to pursue college and a professional career.
“This is a system that provides $2 billion a year in charity care. We take care of the patients who may struggle to find care anywhere else.”
Karen McConnell
The SVP also says it’s critically important to learn how to take different kinds of feedback.
“There is the feedback that you hear and 100 percent agree with and work hard to improve,” McConnell points out. “There’s feedback that you wonder about and need to independently verify. Then there is the feedback that may not be only about you. It’s a real skill to delineate between those three.
“Believing in yourself, working hard to be your best and appreciating everyone who has contributed to your success have help me become the person I am today.”
McConnell was made for leadership. Thankfully, the SVP learned to trust her gut, whether by becoming valedictorian or by following her own path. When she’s not visiting CommonSpirit facilities, she is also interacting with other pharmacy professionals across the country, continuing to build the connections that have made her a trusted advisor for decades.
FFF Enterprises is the nation’s most trusted specialty drug distributor and diversified healthcare company specializing in plasma therapies, respiratory vaccines, and dermatology products. Since 1988, we have been dedicated to improving and safeguarding the pharmaceutical supply chain through our state-of-the-art pharmacy and warehouse facilities, cutting-edge automated inventory solutions, and expert distribution capabilities—all of which affirm our mission of Helping Healthcare Care®.
FFF is grateful for our relationship with Karen McConnell and CommonSpirit Health. Our shared goal of excellence in innovative and reliable patient care means that together, we work daily to ensure our patients receive the care they deserve.
