Member Spotlight: Bronwen Shepherd

Tell us about yourself and why you decided to become a Member of the Network.

I am a Regional Manager and Pharmacy Director for Green Cross Health overseeing multiple rural community pharmacies across Aotearoa.

My role is to support our pharmacists and teams to deliver safe, sustainable, and patient-centered care in environments that are often resource-limited and geographically isolated. A key focus of mine is expanding scope of practice and pharmacist involvement in multidisciplinary care, so we can respond to the evolving needs of our communities.

I joined the Network because I believe rural pharmacies are fertile ground for innovation. Out of necessity, we find creative solutions to complex challenges every day — whether that’s providing after-hours healthcare access, supplying essential medicines to rural hospitals, or collaborating closely with GPs, nurses, and allied health providers to ensure continuity of care.

Rural pharmacists are deeply embedded in their communities. They are problem solvers, advocates, and often the most accessible health professional in town. In some locations, pharmacy is the only healthcare service available.

By joining the Network, I hope to share what’s working well in rural pharmacy, learn from others facing similar challenges, and amplify the rural voice across the wider health system.

2. What are some of the key challenges or opportunities you’re seeing in rural health right now, and how are you/your team addressing them?

Challenges

• Workforce shortages and professional isolation
• Increasing expectations of what pharmacy can deliver without proportional resourcing
• Growing but often unrecognised reliance on pharmacists for safe and effective medicines management — particularly in aged care, rural hospitals, and transitions of care

Opportunities

• Innovation is easier to initiate in rural settings because systems are smaller, relationships are stronger, and communities embrace collaboration out of necessity
• Rural community pharmacies are evolving into accessible, cost-effective Health Hubs — offering initial assessment, advice, treatment, and escalation pathways through supported telehealth and onsite nurse services
• This model improves access while leveraging the complementary expertise of pharmacists and nurses, especially where a physical general practice is not available

3. Is there a particular project, initiative, or success story you’d like to share?

• One of our pharmacies functions as both the community pharmacy and, effectively, the rural hospital pharmacy — ensuring essential medicines for acute care, inpatient needs, and transitions of care. This dual role has enabled creative and responsive service models that would not be possible in a traditional setting.
• Across the network, our rural pharmacies are evolving into integrated Health Hubs. With on-site nursing, ACC services, standing orders, telehealth support and primary care integration, they provide acute care, vaccinations, triage, referrals, and medicines management. This model emerged from necessity — meeting community need when no GP services were available — and is now becoming part of our routine care.
• Rural pharmacies understand at a deep level the importance and risk associated with medicines continuity. When medicine access is compromised (such as during serious earthquakes and floods), I have seen these humble health professionals turn into incredible heroes in order to keep their community alive.

It highlights what rural pharmacists do best: see a need, take ownership, and create practical solutions that improve access and outcomes in real time.