Women play a significant role as healthcare executives. As leaders, they are responsible for overseeing operations, managing budgets, and making important decisions that impact patient care. By bringing a diverse range of experiences, skills, and perspectives to the field, healthcare organizations that have women on their leadership teams tend to have better outcomes, including improved patient satisfaction and better financial performance. One example of a female healthcare executive making such an impact is Jennifer Yowler.  

Jennifer is the President of PharMerica, having previously served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In her current position, she plays a pivotal role in driving all aspects of the organization and setting the strategy to make sure the company is taking care of its clients, patients, and employees. She has over 20 years of experience in finance and operations in the healthcare and long-term care industries, having worked for multiple Fortune 500 companies. She began her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in the audit and assurance group, working with various healthcare and insurance clients. After 11 years with Omnicare, where she held several roles of increasing responsibility, she served as the Vice President of Financial Processes. Later, she was the CFO of Partners Pharmacy. 

At PharMerica, Jennifer leverages her demonstrated track record of success and extensive background in corporate finance, operations, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning to lead the company’s future growth. 

Prior Journey

Jennifer graduated from Ohio University in 1999 with a degree in accounting. After graduation, she joined PWC in its Cincinnati office, where she spent five years working on the Omnicare account. Seeking a better work-life balance, Jennifer took on a leadership role at Omnicare and spent over 10 years in various positions with them. She then held a few other roles before accepting the position as CFO at PharMerica in June 2019. She became president in March 2022. 

PharMerica 

PharMerica is one of the top institutional and community-based pharmacy operators in the country, providing comprehensive pharmacy services through the continuum of patient care, including medication management, compliance and education programs, cost containment, and the purchasing, packaging, and dispensing of drugs, which are accompanied by industry-leading service levels. The company provides care for over 350,000 people a day across skilled nursing, assisted and independent living, home, behavioral, specialty, and infusion settings. 

Way to Leading a Team  

Jennifer visited over 20 of PharMerica’s pharmacies across the country when she became president last year. She says, “It was the best thing I could have done. You can’t lead from a corporate office if you don’t know what’s going on in the field, and that experience was a great way to gain that perspective.”  

Those visits are indicative of Jennifer’s highly cooperative approach in her work. She prioritizes meeting with individuals from all departments, levels, and locations to gather their perspectives and understand their challenges. She emphasizes the importance of valuing everyone’s input and fosters a culture of open communication, breaking down silos and encouraging information sharing across the organization. By doing so, she believes the team can more effectively tackle problems and find solutions. 

She also leads by example. She loves her job, even on the toughest days. She states, “You’ve got to have passion to lead.” She always gets excited about the big things and the small. And her energy level is contagious, inspiring those around her. 

Never Afraid to Take on New Responsibility  

Jennifer recalls instances in her career when she was faced with difficulties for which she had no immediate answers. However, these challenges ended up being valuable growth opportunities for her. She had to delve deep and find a solution, learning how to tackle tasks that were unfamiliar and, in some cases, even intimidating. This experience came in handy when she was at her previous job and she was asked to take on a new role, which initially made her nervous. Despite her fear, Jennifer took on the challenge and now realizes that it was the right decision. The experience taught her to embrace change and push past her comfort zone, leading to her personal and professional growth. 

It is no surprise then that one of Jennifer’s favorite business books is “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. Jennifer shares, “It’s about change, and that’s an area where people struggle in business. The book talks about how to face change head on, work through it, and hold people accountable. I read the book early in my career, and it gave me a lot of insight into how to approach change going forward.” 

Developing as an Expert  

As an expert, Jennifer knows how important it is to stay plugged in to maintain that level of knowledge. She believes the most important thing is to cultivate one’s own network. For her, she says talking to people in the industry about challenges and how they’re dealing with them is essential. That could be customers, partners like GPOs or vendors, or even competitors. “By building relationships with those involved in your industry, you’ll be able to make sure your company is focused on the right strategies and stay on top of what’s happening and needed in the market instead of just sitting in a corporate office,” she shares. 

Leading the Market 

Jennifer wants PharMerica to continue to have the reputation of being one of the highest-level service and quality providers out there. She wants everyone to say PharMerica is the best in the industry. “The way we’ll do that is by continuing to listen to our customers, fine tuning our processes, and making adjustments to keep up with the trends and do things better,” she explains. “If we can make changes to continue to improve our quality and efficiencies, it will help us in the long run.” 

For Jennifer, that’s also a message for the industry as a whole. She believes that for the long-term care pharmacy industry to move forward, it needs to do a better job with electronic medication administration record (eMAR) interfaces to enhance the communication between pharmacy and facility. When she looks at PharMerica’s workflow, she sees a lot of opportunities for advances that could improve automation or efficiencies to help the company better fill prescriptions, whether that’s when the company is getting a prior authorization or getting clarification on an order. She says, “We’re at a time when we have to change, especially because of the nursing shortage after COVID. Nurses do not have time for follow-up questions.” She further adds, “If we can improve collaboration between eMAR companies and pharmacies, it will help the whole industry and make an impact that benefits the patient.” 

Words for Next-Generation Leaders  

As Jennifer reflects on where she has been and the future before her, she offers advice for the rising generation of leaders. “Don’t shy away from opportunities that challenge you. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone ultimately leads to success,” she shares. In addition, Jennifer emphasizes the importance of finding a job one loves to be able to truly excel. This sentiment holds especially true for women like herself, who often have to balance both a career and family life. 

Despite the demands of motherhood and frequent travel, Jennifer is able to maintain a harmonious work-life balance because she loves what she does. By doing so, she feels she is also setting a positive example for her children to see the joy and fulfillment a worthwhile career can bring. 

website: www.pharmerica.com