Our pharmacy team ensures patients can access medications safely and affordably. With our move to Adams, our pharmaceutical services ensure that patients can quickly and easily access their prescriptions under the same roof where they receive medical care. In partnership with residency programs and clinical training institutions, we help develop the next generation of healthcare providers while expanding patient access.
Dr. Bender, Clinical Pharmacy Manager
Dr. Bender serves as Clinical Pharmacy Manager at Share Ourselves’ retail pharmacy program, where she leads a highly integrated, community-based model of care focused on expanding access to affordable medications and comprehensive pharmacy services.
She began her journey with Share Ourselves as a volunteer while attending UC Irvine, initially supporting non-clinical services before being invited into pharmacy work due to her bilingual Spanish skills and ability to connect with patients. She went on to earn her PharmD from the University of Southern California (USC), complete early-career work in managed care at UnitedHealthcare and return to Share Ourselves as a clinical staff pharmacist in 2016. In 2022, she assumed leadership of the pharmacy program.
Dr. Bender’s clinical practice focuses on chronic disease management, particularly diabetes and hypertension, with an emphasis on medication therapy optimization, lab-guided clinical assessment, and patient education. Working under a collaborative practice agreement, she and the pharmacy team can adjust therapies between provider visits, close care gaps, and ensure patients remain on guideline-directed treatment plans.
A defining feature of her leadership is the integration of pharmacy into the broader care continuum. The program provides medication reconciliation, ongoing clinical follow-up, and real-time education at the point of care—services that extend beyond traditional retail pharmacy models. Patients can receive frequent, no-cost pharmacist visits, helping reinforce treatment goals, improve medication adherence, and reduce avoidable hospitalizations.
Dr. Bender also oversees key operational systems that improve access to care, including prior authorization support, inter-formulary medication exchange, and participation in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. These mechanisms allow the pharmacy to significantly reduce medication costs for uninsured and underinsured patients, including lifesaving therapies such as insulin and emergency medications.
Equally central to her role is education and workforce development. The pharmacy serves as a training site for fourth-year pharmacy students completing advanced practice rotations, as well as a residency site through partnership programs. Students and residents gain hands-on experience in ambulatory care, medication management, and patient counseling, while also contributing to provider education on emerging therapies and medication access challenges.
I feel like we play a pretty big role in the community,”
Dr. Bender shared. “We’re able to provide those
answers for them, reassure them, and let them know
there’s things they can do to get better.”
-Dr. Bender
Through this layered model of care, Dr. Bender has helped build a pharmacy program that not only delivers direct patient services but also cultivates the next generation of pharmacists and strengthens the clinical capacity of the broader healthcare team.
