Chris Sain

Term: May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2027

I am currently employed as a Pharmacy Director with Atrium Health, a position that requires me to oversee the daily pharmacy operations of two facilities, Atrium Health Cleveland and Atrium Health Kings Mountain.

I am a first-generation pharmacist who was born and raised in Cleveland County, North Carolina. I earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994 after which I returned to Shelby, North Carolina to work as an IV technician for Cleveland Regional Medical Center (now Atrium Health Cleveland). The experience I gained as an IV tech prompted me to pursue a career in pharmacy. After receiving my Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 1999, I returned to western North Carolina and worked briefly as a staff pharmacist for Wal-Mart. In August of 1999, I was offered an opportunity to return to Cleveland Regional Medical Center as a clinical pharmacist. In October of 2000, I became the Pharmacy Director at the same facility, a position I have held ever since.

I am a proud member of the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists (NCAP) and the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP). I have spoken at numerous continuing education programs, including delivering the New Drug Update for the Cleveland County Pharmaceutical Association for over twenty (20) consecutive years. I was honored to receive the John Young Leadership Award in 2011 presented by the Leadership Team at Atrium Health Cleveland/Kings Mountain.

While hospital pharmacy has been my primary focus for the past twenty-five (25) years, I have intentionally and purposefully kept myself informed as to issues faced by retail and community pharmacists as well. I continue to work relief in a community pharmacy in Shelby at least two to three days a month. I resolutely believe that pharmacists and technicians should strive to “work at the top of their license”, taking advantage of every opportunity we are legally afforded to improve the health and overall well-being of fellow North Carolina citizens. I am also passionate about expanding clinical roles for current and future pharmacists. As our honorable profession continues to evolve, we need to ensure that pharmacy is afforded its rightful place at the forefront of all healthcare related discussions, not just those involving medication.

My wife and I live in Hickory, North Carolina and we are the proud parents of two daughters, one of whom is starting her third year at Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one who will be in her senior year of undergraduate work at UNC with plans to apply to pharmacy school in the fall of 2024.