Ruth Fenstermacher, who has served as director of pharmacy at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital for the past 23 years, retired from that post on June 30.

Fenstermacher said she has seen many changes in the way prescriptions are handled at the hospital. For example, the pharmacy now processes electronic medical charts and orders, far removed from the handwritten doctors’ orders when she first began in the pharmacy. Other major changes include dose calculators and more computerized tracking of prescriptions to check for possible allergic and other adverse reactions.

Fenstermacher said she has enjoyed her long stay at Walter Reed, having previously worked there as staff pharmacist and also been a volunteer. She thanked her staff for their hard work and hospital administrator Megan Kleckner thanked Fenstermacher for her service.

Previously, Fenstermacher worked as a pharmacist at Morgan’s Drug Store and Farm Fresh in Gloucester. In retirement, she plans to enjoy gardening ...