Sacred Heart Home Care announces completion of one-of-a-kind pharmacy

Sacred Heart Home Care IV (Intravenous) Infusion Pharmacy has made more than $300,000 worth of renovations to its downtown Pensacola offices to include a state-of-the-art IV infusion pharmacy-the first of its kind in Northwest Florida. Sacred Heart Home Care is located at 213 E. Wright Street in Pensacola.

These renovations, which also include the addition of new equipment, have been made in accordance with new United States Pharmacopeia (USP) federal patient safety standards that govern the compounding of sterile drug products administered by infusion. Sacred Heart Home Care is the first in the area to make changes to comply with the new standards. USP is the official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and other healthcare products manufactured and sold in the U.S.

Home Care's new IV Infusion Pharmacy is designed to provide a sterile environment for drug compounding for patients diagnosed with acute and/or chronic conditions. The new, cutting-edge pharmacy allows for the preparation of medications in a highly controlled, sterile environment, resulting in enhanced patient, employee and product safety. This new pharmacy exemplifies Sacred Heart Health System's goal to exceed national standards of quality patient care.

Renovations include the addition of a positive pressure room for compounding antibiotics and drugs administered by injection or infusion. The air flow of the pressure room is designed to ensure the sterile integrity of the product. These drugs are compounded in new dual mobile isolation chambers to meet standards for patient and pharmacy staff safety.

In addition, a negativepressure room has been added to allow for compounding of chemotherapy drugs in a single mobile isolation chamber. In the negative pressure room, there is absolutely no escape of particles when compounding the chemotherapy drugs. This is a safety guard for employees working with these chemicals. The mobility of these chambers is critical in situations of potential disaster so that they can be easily relocated to safer shelter.

Sacred Heart Home Care's new IV Infusion Pharmacy is staffed by six healthcare professionals including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Their combined experience in the field of pharmacy totals nearly 50 years.

SHHC services are comprehensive and include skilled nursing, rehabilitation, respiratory care, home medical equipment, and infusion pharmacy services. The service area covers Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton counties in Florida and Baldwin and Mobile Counties in Alabama. Sacred Heart Home Care has offices in Pensacola, Niceville and Mobile. In Alabama, Sacred Heart Home Care is licensed for durable medical equipment and pharmacy services only.

For more information about Sacred Heart Home Care and its services, please call (850) 470-9288.