PHARMACISTS STAY TRUE TO SOUTH WINDSOR ROOTS
Growing up in South Windsor, John Payne recognized his community would benefit from having a local medical centre.
After graduating from the Eugene Apple ba um College of Pharmacy at Wayne State University in Detroit and establishing Provincial Pharmacy and West Tecumseh Pharmacy with former classmate Robin Chang ,“I kept thinking how my mom and neighbours wanted medical care that they can access quickly and easily,” Payne says.
He and Chang were determined to bring health care to them. On Aug. 23, 2015, the pharmacists welcomed everyone to the new Grand Marais Medical Centre.
Located at the corner of Dominion Blvd and Grand Marais Rd West, the site of the medical centre holds fond memories for Payne. “I received my first communion at Christ the King Church” before it was closed.
Payne is glad the site continues to be a caring place of healing.
The Grand Marais Medical Centre is comprised of the pharmacy, an urgent care clinic, lab, an after-hours walk-in clinic and is home to five family physician practices. The complex also includes WRA X-Ray, South Windsor Vision Care and Lifestyle Health and Chiropractic.
Seven Emergency Room physicians divide their time between the Grand Marais Urgent Care Clinic and the Ouellette Campus of Windsor Regional Hospital. Patients are happy to have that level of care in their neighborhood.
Luwana Dobson appreciates that the Grand Marais Medical Centre is in her neighbourhood. Recently,she was al armed when her daughter fainted after giving blood. The Urgent Care physician came out of the clinic immediatelyto attend to her daughter while the team worked together to stabilize her.
“I was panicking, not knowing what was happening,” Dobson says.
Her fears were soon alleviated. “They knew exactly what to do.”
Dobson, her husband, son and daughter are all patients. “We go to the clinic, get a script and take it to the pharmacy to be filled,” she says. “The pharmacy staff go above and beyond. They are very person able and explain things to you. They are on the ball.”
She believes it is important to support the pharmacy. It is, after all, the pharmacy that brought this complex to the area. “Our focus is our patients and their health care needs.” Chang says.
For instance, the Grand Marais Pharmacy brought in lab services and runs this service at a financial loss each month. They hope that support for the pharmacy grows so they can continue to provide these services.
To decrease the amount of time it takes to physically fill prescriptions, the pharmacy recently installed ScriptPro technology that counts and labels medications.
“We’ve invested in technology to increase patient safety, accuracy and efficiency, freeing up more time to engage with our patients,” Payne says. “We understand many patients are not feeling well coming from the doctor and they do not want to wait 20 minutes for their prescriptions. Our normal wait times are less than 10 minutes and with the new technology we hope to decrease that further.”
No groceries or cosmetics are sold at the Grand Marais Pharmacy. “Our focus is 100 per cent on pharmacy,” says Chang.
Besides filling traditional prescriptions, the pharmacists specialize in compounding medications. “We’re able to make these products into capsules, creams and suppositories from active ingredients obtained from accredited suppliers,” Payne explains.
“Oftentimes, we come across children who refuse to take their medications and we are asked by parents to compound suspensions and suppositories for their children,” Chang says.
Chang calls South Windsor “a true community, with many retirees and young families, all needing some degree of health care.” The Grand Marais Medical Centre and Pharmacy offers exactly that with the goal of adding more services.
“With the diversity of our patients and providers, it’s great to see many different cultures coming here for a variety of health care needs,” Payne notes. “Our hope is that the pharmacy will continue to grow based on the support of the community so we can expand the services available at this complex.”
“Our goal is to provide extended clinic and lab hours as well as bring on specialists and many other services,” Chang says. “Our local pharmacy needs the help of the community to provide all the services this community needs. We believe in reinvesting in the community. It’s what South Windsor deserves.”