Coming Out from Behind the Bench: NCPA President Michele Belcher Talks About Community, the Future of Pharmacy and the Best Soda Fountain in the West

There’s a Better Way: Smart Talk on Healthcare and Technology

In this episode, Melanie sits down with community pharmacist Michele Belcher. Michele is president of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the owner of Grants Pass Pharmacy, which dates to 1904 and is the last independent pharmacy in Grants Pass, Oregon. Elected president of NCPA in 2022, Michele has long been active in state and federal legislation impacting community pharmacies as well as Oregon’s state pharmacy coalition. When Grants Pass was hit hard by the Delta variant, Michele led the charge for her community pharmacy to rise to the occasion and rallied colleagues to administer COVID-19 vaccines to a particularly vulnerable population: the developmentally disabled. And as the country continues to face a shortage of primary care physicians, Michele is advocating for pharmacists to expand the clinical services they provide. A community pharmacist that easily moves between small town America to the nation's capital, Michele is a leader to watch as the healthcare industry continues to undergo rapid change.