Heart of the City Pharmacy: A Journey of Care and Community

For Brett Gingrich, the journey to pharmacy wasn’t a straight path. It began in finance—a world of numbers, balance sheets, and business forecasts. But something was missing. He had always been drawn to healthcare, fascinated by the way medications interact with the body. When an opportunity arose to pivot careers, he took it, stepping into a field where he could make a tangible impact on people’s lives. Today, as the Director of Pharmacy Services at Heart of the City Pharmacy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Gingrich isn’t just dispensing medication—he’s transforming healthcare for some of the community’s most vulnerable patients.

Heart of the City Pharmacy is part of Cherry Health, one of Michigan’s largest health centers, dedicated to breaking down barriers to healthcare. “Our pharmacy is here for all Cherry Health patients and the general public, regardless of insurance status,” Gingrich explains. “Our mission is to remove barriers, expand access, and deliver comprehensive, quality healthcare—including pharmacy services.”

That mission is deeply personal for Gingrich and his team. Serving the underserved and immigrant communities in Grand Rapids isn’t just a job—it’s a calling. Every prescription filled, every patient interaction is a step toward a healthier community.

Pharmacies often serve as the last stop in a patient’s healthcare journey, but Gingrich and his team believe they should be a starting point. One of the pharmacy’s most impactful initiatives has been expanding access to Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) devices. “Historically, CGMs haven’t been well covered by payors, but we secured grant funding to help 400 patients get set up with Freestyle and Dexcom devices,” Gingrich shares. “On average, those patients saw their A1C drop by 1.28%.”

The results speak for themselves. By gathering and sharing this data with state agencies and insurers, Heart of the City Pharmacy hopes to push for broader CGM coverage, ensuring even more patients have access to life-changing diabetes management tools.

Like many independent pharmacies, Heart of the City faces the daily reality of rising drug costs and declining reimbursements. But instead of letting these challenges dictate patient care, Gingrich and his team take a proactive approach. “We work closely with doctors to find effective but more affordable treatment regimens for our patients,” he says. “It’s not always easy, but when we can make medications accessible without sacrificing quality, it makes all the difference.”

One of the pharmacy’s greatest strengths lies in its integration within Cherry Health. “We’re inside the same clinic as the prescribers, which allows us to communicate seamlessly with them,” Gingrich explains. “We have access to the Electronic Health Record, we can document our own clinical pharmacy encounters, and we even have a Zoom channel for doctors to use as a drug information resource.”

This level of coordination is rare in traditional pharmacy settings. It means that when a patient has a question about their medication, a pharmacist can provide an answer in real-time, backed by direct communication with their healthcare provider. The result? Faster care, fewer errors, and better patient outcomes.

For Gingrich, the future of Heart of the City Pharmacy is one of deeper collaboration. “The better communication we have with doctors and nurses, the better care our patients receive,” he says. The pharmacy also continues to rely on valuable support from IPC. “We take advantage of IPC’s wholesaler pricing, government relations support, and other resources. IPC was instrumental in helping us open our sister store, Westside Pharmacy.”

Despite his success in the field, Gingrich’s defining moment as a pharmacist came not from a big initiative, but from a simple conversation with a patient. “We adjusted her medication regimen to make it more affordable, and she was so grateful—she could buy groceries for her family that week. That moment really stuck with me.”

It’s moments like these that remind Gingrich why he chose this path.

Looking back, Gingrich wishes he had understood the power of independent pharmacy models earlier in his career. “I started in chain and grocery pharmacy without realizing how valuable it is to work in a setting where you’re integrated into a healthcare team,” he says. “When pharmacists and prescribers communicate closely, patient care improves dramatically.”

Heart of the City Pharmacy isn’t just a place where prescriptions are filled—it’s a place where lives are changed. Through innovative programs, strong provider collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to making healthcare more accessible, Gingrich and his team are setting a new standard for pharmacy care.

As they continue their journey, one thing remains clear: Heart of the City Pharmacy isn’t just serving a community—it’s shaping the future of healthcare, one patient at a time.