New generation in the mix at Steffen Drug

HARTINGTON — Dr. Jack Steffen wants to be a jack-of-all-trades pharmacist as he follows in his father's footsteps down the same career path.

The 25-year-old Hartington native recently returned to his hometown and started working July 17 as a fulltime pharmacist for Steffen Drug, the downtown family business owned by his parents, Dr. Matt and Brenda Steffen.

Jack said he hopes to provide even more service at the full-service pharmacy in his position.

'We're just trying to branch out into providing more services, instead of just filling (prescriptions),' he said. 'My goal is to get more of the clinical things, like strep testing.

'If patients come in, we're trying to get it set up so we can just swab their throat and they can have results in 10 minutes and then we can get them their antibiotic and get them out (the door),' he said.

Matt said strep testing is an example of point-of care testing which can be available at pharmacies and requires a collaborative agreement with a doctor, 'which can be a hurdle,' he said.

'We do have collaborative agreements with doctors to give vaccines right now,' the 53-year-old Steffen said.

Jack said he wants the pharmacy's customers to know he can administer all sorts of shots – including for influenza and COVID-19 – if they need one when they come to pick up a prescription and also wants them to be aware of other vaccines he can provide, such as pneumonia, hepatitis B and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis).

'We're just trying to streamline the process for our patients,' Jack said.

Matt said it's convenient for people to receive vaccines at a pharmacy versus a doctor's office.

'People feel comfortable coming in here,' Matt said. 'They just pop in.'

Matt enjoys the business side of working at a pharmacy more than the clinical side, which Jack brings as a strength of his.

'He does a lot of vaccinations,' Matt said. 'He's smart enough with his expertise that I'm just going to put him in charge of that stuff.'

Growing up with a father who is a pharmacist eventually led Jack down that career path himself.

He previously worked as a pharmacy technician for his parents at the Hartington pharmacy.

However, after he graduated in 2016 from Cedar Catholic High School, he went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to pursue a mechanical engineering degree.

Jack changed his major shortly after touring Duncan Aviation in Lincoln and seeing the work environment for mechanical engineers there.

They were working in little cubicles inside an office building, doing math and designing jet engine parts.

'I was like, 'I don't want to sit there and do math for the rest of my life,'' Jack said.

He switched to a pre-health path and completed the coursework he needed at UNL in three years, then moved to Omaha to attend pharmacy school.

Jack went to the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Pharmacy for four years and graduated this past May with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.

He’s comfortable with his choice to become a pharmacist, like his father.

“I really like the science,” Jack said. “I felt it came pretty easy to me. It was just the logical option.”

Coming home to Cedar County seemed like a logical option as well for him and his wife, Brianna (Lammers). She is a Fordyce native who graduated in 2016 from Cedar Catholic and is a registered nurse.

“I always liked Hartington,” Jack said. “I thought this would be a good place to raise my kids, just having them be able to walk home from school and not worry about them.”

The couple and their 1-year-old son, Christopher, moved in late June from Ralston to Hartington, where they have bought a house.

“He’s enjoying Hartington,” Jack, smiling, said of Christopher. “He likes having a backyard, being out of an apartment.”

Matt said he and Brenda are happy to have Jack back home and working at Steffen Drug, but they are just as overjoyed to have Christopher close by as well.

“I like Christopher a lot,” Matt said, laughing. “He’s fun.”

The addition of Jack as a full-time pharmacist at the business will allow Matt to pull back on his hours and take on more of a part-time position.

“I can leave whenever I want,” Matt said. “When you work upfront, you have to be here all day.”

Jack, Matt and fellow pharmacist Kara Lippert switch off on handling upfront counter duties at Steffen Drug, which Matt and Brenda have owned since 1999.

The couple also own Manion’s Drug Store in Creighton, which they bought in 2012, and the Pierce Pharmacy, a remote dispensing location they started in 2019.

Jack will be working at the Hartington pharmacy most days.

“I like it better than the city, for sure,” Jack said, comparing Hartington to Omaha. “It only takes me like three minutes to get to work instead of 25 minutes.”