It doesn’t matter where you get your medicine, you know pharmacist Tom Potts if you shop at Safeway in Milton-Freewater.

Since 2000, Tom’s high-wattage smile has beamed out from that corner of the store at everyone on their way to buy yogurt or beer. We all grin back, delighted to have been spotted.

Some of that comes from longevity. This pharmacy staff has remained largely stable — plus kind and cheerful — for nearly a quarter of a century. That’s huge in a period of history that’s witnessed burnout, turnover and staff shortages at about every pharmacy in the nation.

And some of that is pure Tom, the lead pharmacist there.

As soon as I told a few folks I was planning to write a column about “Tom at Safeway,” their eyes lit up.

“Oh, I love Tom,” was the universal response.

But I love Tom and, after all, we can’t all be his favorite customer.

Actually, we are all his favorites, Tom said.

“I really do love people. People are just wonderful, for the most part. I’ve really, really liked our customers.”

A bold statement, especially as I mentally review some of my own shopping behavior and knowing I’ve seen far worse. We’ve forgotten how to treat people like people and this is often apparent at gas stations and grocery stores.

Tom, who’s been in the profession since 1995, would never complain. But pharmacists have come under incredible strain in recent years.

That seems especially true in rural areas historically challenged by low healthcare provider numbers.

It’s easy to blame a global pandemic but stress in the overall profession began notably rising some five years ago.

As in other healthcare fields, a waning pharmacy workforce is a big piece of that. People are leaving or not entering the profession for many reasons, including high workload and low appreciation of what pharmacists do.

You know, like help keep us alive.

There are studies supporting this and other challenges: communication issues, turmoil around the pandemic and a chronic insufficient supply of meds.

“The pandemic really pushed our levels up,” Tom conceded, and people’s concerns over the vaccine added to the overwhelming burden for his staff.

In a very Tom-style silver lining, however, he noted that it is in giving vaccinations in Safeway’s itsy-bitsy-but-nice shot clinic there’s opportunity for deeper conversations.

More than a counter interaction ever will, it’s a time and place where relationships can build.

That model better fits his nature, Tom believes.

“I feel like one of my personal strong points is that I am fairly compassionate … I am empathetic toward people’s needs.”

I know this to be true. Tom has kindly waited with me through a few of my own tantrums. On the surface those were about glitchy prescriptions or insurance hurdles. More deeply, my angst revolved around loss, single parenting and my body’s failure to keep up.

Tom gets it. Growing up in Spokane in a large family prepared him to see just about anything and everything.

He also leans on his pharmacy team, and they lean on him.

“We have a great group that works well together. Which is one of the reasons I have stayed where I am,” Tom told me. “We’re family back there.”

Even more true at the height of the pandemic. When many had to work from home, the pharmacy folks kept showing up to face whatever virus floated in the air. And Tom didn’t say this, but I know when the public couldn’t see their doctors, we turned to pharmacists (a broad label for everyone behind that counter) to answer our frantic questions and soothe our fears.

And they did. They did it for as long as we needed them to. Without enough staff. Without any sign of irritation or the deep exhaustion every employee suffered. Tom’s team stayed rock steady.

Social media showed us that certainly wasn’t true at every pharmacy in the area.

Still, service like that comes at a cost and that tab is still being paid. These days Tom returns home from an 11-hour work day worn to his core.

“I will still go for ice cream, though,” he laughed.

“We love going for ice cream.”

But gardening, a favorite hobby, has to wait until Tom can find the energy for it.

He makes time to hike and ski with his kids, Aiden and Ava. Tom goes on those precious family vacations. And he did what needed to be done when his wife, Carrie, returned to school to become a dental hygienist.

“I’m really proud of her,” Tom said. “She graduated last year and that’s a huge accomplishment.”

With their credentials, the Potts could thrive anywhere. Lucky for me, though, their plan is to stay right here.

“I am really content in Milton-Freewater … I feel this is right,” Tom said.

“This is where I feel I’m home.”