Vapour shields have been installed at both La Ronge pharmacies. (Harbour Pharmacy/Facebook)

By Derek Cornet

health care

La Ronge pharmacies ‘planning for the worst and hoping for the best’

Mar 27, 2020 | 5:02 PM

Pharmacies in La Ronge have split employees into separate shifts as a measure to continue operating in the event a worker becomes sick.

“Slowly we’re just getting used to the new normal, and we’re planning for the worst and hoping for the best,” Harbour Pharmacy Manager Ivana Cross said. “We’re getting into good practices with disinfecting, hand hygiene, and mostly recently, we put up our vapour barrier that separates the dispensary from the front store. This is for the patient’s safety and ours.”

Cross also explained the employees are now in staggered shifts and there is no contact between the two. That ensures if an employee contracts COVID-19 and the entire shift needs to be quarantined, the pharmacy can continue providing services with the second shift.

Hours of operation have also changed to allow staff to sterilize the pharmacy. For instance, it’s open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. before closing down to do a complete cleaning. The pharmacy then reopens at 2 p.m. and closes at 5:30 p.m. before it is then cleaned again. Cross believes patients are understanding of the new hours, as well as the vapour guard, longer prescription fill times and the fact they can’t dispense medication for more than one month.

“At first, I wasn’t sure if the barrier was going to create some anxiety, but it’s really been received well,” she said. “I think people are realizing the gravity of this COVID-19 and they are happy there are measures in place to prevent the spread to the community or from the community to us.”

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When residents began to realize the magnitude of the pandemic, Cross noted the pharmacy was initially busier because there was fear and anxiety they could shut down. She added as long as staff are healthy enough to continue providing service, the pharmacy will remain open.

Matt Preston is the manager of the Giant Tiger Pharmacy and he said the last few weeks have been a difficult and challenging time. His pharmacy has extended the hours to match that of the general store and employees have also been split into separate shifts. With the staggered shifts, he mentioned there is less of a chance of the virus affecting the entire staff in some way.

“We started to get an inkling it was coming, so we made some changes to our practice to try get out ahead of things,” Preston said. “I think this is kind of the trend you’re going to see across the country from most pharmacies if they are able to do it.”

A plexiglass shield was already installed a couple weeks ago and Preston noted patients have been understanding with the changes. For the first week or so, he said there was tension as many people didn’t know what to expect. Preston noted, overall, those feelings have somewhat faded.

“Everyone in town has responded overall very positively and I think there was a collective sense of community in the town,” Preston said. “People know we are a tight-knit community and we are there for one another and, because of that, we haven’t experienced the mass panic we’ve seen in the news.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno