John Bullock was born in Prescott, Arkansas, the fifth of six children. The Bullock household seldom saw a physician. The local healthcare professional with the largest influence, who provided care to the community, was the pharmacist. The pharmacy was a permanent fixture in the community, open long hours and a place one went for medical care as well as coke floats. This early experience with his local pharmacy stayed with John, and would later serve to direct his talents and passions towards the community pharmacy profession.
Upon high school graduation, John received a football and agricultural scholarship to Southern Arkansas University. After earning an Associate’s degree in Agriculture & Animal Science, he headed to the University of Texas at Austin to gain admittance to the College of Pharmacy. Working full-time, getting married, and having his first child, John graduated from The University of Texas with a Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1974.
John’s initial work was at the Texas Tech University student health center pharmacy, located in the medical school, where he also taught prescription writing technique. He later worked at Day Drug in Lubbock, and Jones McCall pharmacy in Lamesa. In 1976, John purchased a partnership in Baggett Pharmacy in Levelland, where he worked for nearly 30 years. As a partner in this business, he was at the forefront of compounding medications and began his long career of educating students from the Texas Tech School of Pharmacy. Additionally, while at Baggett Pharmacy, John consulted with numerous nursing home and psychiatric facilities, was the Director of Pharmacy at Lynn County Hospital in Tahoka, contracted with South Plains Rural Health, and, since 1985, has been the Director of Pharmacy for Cochran Memorial Hospital in Morton.
As part owner of Baggett Pharmacy, John and his partner, Robby Timberlake, were integral in establishing the first protocols for pharmacy-based immunizations in the State of Texas. In 1995, John wrote and a physician signed a detailed protocol, outlining immunization services to be provided to the public by the pharmacist as “an act delegated” by the physician, thus, initiating one of the first functioning protocols for pharmacy-based immunizations in the nation.
In 1996, John helped comprise the educational team for the first American Pharmacist Association immunization training program held in Jackson, Mississippi, presenting injection technique training. He continued to contract with the American Pharmacist Association, teaching various vaccine science programs throughout the nation for several years. In 1997, John created PharmVac, the first Texas State Board of Pharmacy certified continuing education program for pharmacy-based immunizations. Pharm-Vac served as an organization for immunizing pharmacists, with group purchasing power for vaccines, 24-hour consultation for immunizing pharmacists, and liaison services for regulatory issues. John has worked with the Center for Disease Control, Pharmacia, the Texas Health System Pharmacist Association, the Texas Pharmacist Association, the Texas Tech School of Pharmacy, as well as several other state organizations and universities throughout the nation. In these capacities, John has trained thousands of pharmacists and other health professionals across the country, contributing to significant increases in vaccination rates.
Upon the closing of Baggett Pharmacy in 2004, John took a staff position with Covenant Hospital in Lubbock. He then continued his previous work with South Plains Rural Health in Levelland, this time, as the Director of Pharmacy. Through this Federally Qualified Health Care Center, he worked and managed one Class D pharmacy, two Class A pharmacies, a contract pharmacy, and was the full-time pharmacist in Levelland, overall serving seven medically-underserved counties in West Texas. In this ten-year position, he took care of the low-income and underserved patients in the South Plains area and continued his training of Texas Tech pharmacy students, taking his last student in 2015.
After semi-retiring in 2016, John currently works as a relief pharmacist with United Medical Centers in Eagle Pass and Del Rio, and has continued to serve as the Director of Pharmacy at Cochran Memorial Hospital in Morton. John owns homes in Levelland and Del Rio and splits his time between the two. John has been married to his beautiful wife, Marla, for 52 years, and is the cherished father of three and the beloved grandfather of two. He has always been actively involved in his church and the community. He enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, hunting, cooking, and gardening. In his 50-year career, John has practiced at most levels of diversified pharmacy, has pioneered the profession in pharmacist-administered immunizations, has trained thousands of immunizers, has taught and mentored hundreds of pharmacy students, and has fiercely advocated for the profession of pharmacy and its capacity to provide care for a community. He considers it a privilege to practice in one of the greatest professions in America.