Josh Shumway, PharmD 

It’s all about patient care for Joshua Shumway, PharmD, Axis Health System’s Director of Pharmacy. “The thing that I’ve always enjoyed is the interaction with the patients, whether it’s counseling or giving immunizations, just being able to talk to them and build those relationships,” he says.

Shumway has been the Axis pharmacist for over a year, working first at the Dove Creek Integrated Health clinic and now at the Cortez site. He’s been a key catalyst for change in these communities, helping establish Axis’ Cortez pharmacy and Dove Creek’s telepharmacy. 

It was a diagnosis close to home that pushed him into pharmaceutics. “My wife was diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor,” Shumway said. “And so, we went through the process of getting it removed, and treatment. When went to the pharmacy, and we were given new meds, and we had no idea what they were. And so that kind of sparked the interest — I wanted to learn and see how these meds were going to help my wife get through that process.”

He earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Northeast Ohio Medical University, a school that allowed him to rotate with a range of clinics and hospital networks. He later worked for Rite Aid and CVS for several years, before another diagnosis pushed him to Southwest Colorado: his mother began undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She’s doing well now, Shumway said, but the experience made him realize that he wanted to be closer to family. 

“When I first came in, there was only one pharmacy in Dove Creek,” Shumway said. “It was 90 square feet, so it was pretty small.” 

Looking to expand services to the greater community, Shumway and the Axis team were able to establish the state’s first telepharmacy in Dove Creek. The telepharmacy is connected to Axis’ Cortez site, increasing access and allowing Shumway to process prescriptions while working in Cortez. They also had been pushing for more insurance coverage at the telepharmacy and “broke down the last barrier” earlier this month. “Now Cortez and Dove Creek are open to the public and have Medicaid, Medicare, and all the third-party insurances in place,” he said.

As he continues his work here, Shumway hopes to keep growing the pharmacy’s services and building its reputation as a timely, reliable site. “We can provide that service that this community needs,” he said. “They can have a reliable pharmacy that’s going to be open, and that their meds are going to be ready on time.” 

When he is not working, Shumway enjoys mountain biking, riding motorcycles, and spending time with his wife and three sons.