A new pharmacy is coming to Squamish with the goal of being a one stop shop for most medical needs.
Garibaldi Pharmacy, which is owned by pharmacist Dean George, will open its doors on Feb. 1 on Dowad Drive at The Wilfred building. On top of typical prescription fills and minor ailment assessments, the pharmacy will also have a compounding lab and a medical clinic helmed by Terra Nova Medical Clinic.
“We want to focus basically on patient care and personalized service,” said George. “My goal is to just be strictly patient focused and not volume.”
George said the addition of a compounding lab will allow pharmacists to mix medical ingredients to create medicines for specific patient care needs. George said the compounding lab is the first of its kind in Squamish, which he hopes will help patients in the area receive their medicines quicker.
Attached inside the pharmacy is a medical clinic with four patient exam rooms. George said that the clinic will start with one family doctor, Dr. Alison Ukrainec, and a couple of nurse practitioners, but perhaps grow into more as it becomes established.
“It's still vital for someone to maintain having a primary care provider that follows their health journey,” he said. “One of the motivations for doing this is it's a way for me to make it a bit more cost effective for family doctors to practice in Squamish.”
Near the start, the clinic can take some walk-ins as the pharmacy and clinic becomes more known in Squamish. Overall, the goal is to establish a family doctor for those in need in Squamish.
George added that there is a place to register as a patient on the pharmacy’s website and a few dozen potential patients have already signed up.
“So far, the reception has been very good,” he said. “And naturally, most people are more eager that the clinic is coming in because that's something we're really lacking.”
George said it was “scary” taking on some of the financial obligations of the new endeavour, but ultimately it was something that would help Squamish and give him satisfaction.
“This was kind of like a personal project,” he said. “I wanted to do something different and have a bit more satisfaction in my career.”
Once opened, George said the hours will likely be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Friday and hopes to add a few hours on Saturday later on. The medical clinic will likely be on weekdays in the morning until mid-afternoon.
For more information about Garibaldi Pharmacy, check out garibaldipharmacy.com. Other information about Terra Nova Medical Clinic can be viewed at terranovamedical.ca.
