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Pharmacy Appreciation Month – Join Us in thanking a Pharmacy Professional today!
March is Pharmacy Appreciation Month, the annual national campaign that shines a spotlight on the extraordinary role pharmacy professionals play in health care.
In communities big and small, they are a truly stabilizing force: a place to turn for support, guidance and advice – in both new and conventional ways.
Consistently, pharmacy professionals embody their longstanding principles of integrity, care, respect and professionalism to deliver the much-needed support, guidance and care their patients expect.
This past year of unprecedented challenges has been no exception. An unrelenting global health crisis, extreme weather events, and global supply difficulties brought historic pressures on both the health care system and communities across Canada.
Through it all, pharmacy professionals didn’t have to be asked to step up to the plate. They were already there.
We thank all pharmacy professionals for their unwavering commitment to solutions-oriented thinking and exceeding expectations under extraordinary circumstances, and we are proud to share some examples from our own network of Pharmasave teams:
Click on the image above to view a Global News interview with Pharmasave Beaches Pharmacy on their community donation of N95 Masks.
Providing exceptional standards of essential care to meet urgent patient needs when in-person access to other health care providers was harder to find.
Remaining fully committed to personalized service in order to help their communities stay healthy in the face of a new norm in retail pharmacy that has been created by the pandemic: including virtual consults, e-prescribing and contact-free shopping – all with a personal touch.
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Accelerating implementation of Pharmasave’s eCare services alongside our digital health services to support patients in need of health products and services delivered right to their homes.
Supporting the community in new and innovative ways – from safe/voluntary testing in pharmacies; to community promotion; to supporting distribution of free test kits where they were made available.
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With governments expanding of scope to allow for pharmacy professionals to administer COVID-19 vaccines by injections, we were able to help hundreds of thousands of Canadians access vaccines – including vulnerable populations, seniors and children.
Providing virtual medication counselling, including medication reviews for urgent patient needs. This allowed pharmacy to continue providing essential care for urgent patient needs throughout the pandemic when other health care access was limited by strain.
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Photo credit: Randy Lilley – Portageonline.com
Opening new pharmacies to support previously underserviced areas.
Pharmasave Portage la Prairie, Manitoba opened under the leadership of Caitlin Giercke during the first wave of the pandemic, and in 2021 Giercke was honoured with the Portage Chamber Business Award for Outstanding Entrepreneur – click to read about the struggles of opening during a pandemic or Geircke on winning outstanding entrepreneur award.
Going the extra mile to ensure continued access to medicine and supplies when faced with the impacts of severe weather events.
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Dr. Fairuz Siraj, PharmD, RPh.
Pharmacist – Pharmasave Hillside, Victoria, BC.
Photo credit: Jon-Mark Photography
We are grateful for the community recognition our pharmacy teams have been given for their exemplary work, like Dr. Fairuz Siraj from Pharmasave Hillside who received a BCPhA New Practitioner Award for his dedication to Migraine and Diabetes education in his local community. Learn more about Fairuz and his important work here.
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“These past 2 years have certainly changed the role of community pharmacy – likely forever,” said Carmen Churcott, CEO. “But there is one thing that hasn’t changed: Community-based, patient-centric care has always been at the heart of what we do at Pharmasave. We’ve shown that no matter what challenges the world may bring our way, Pharmasave will remain focused on achieving and maintaining better health outcomes for everyone.”
Please watch this video and join us in thanking pharmacy professionals across Canada for their expertise, their compassion, and their unwavering dedication to delivering exceptional patient care each and every day. Enjoy!
