By Annabelle Blair | Contributor
After closing in November 2013, the Upland Healthcare Pharmacy across the street from Taylor reopened at the beginning of 2016 and has resurfaced as a fully functional operation. Driving into Gas City to pick up prescriptions or walking a couple of blocks to buy toothpaste, vitamins or tissues no longer haunts students' eternal to-do lists.
The small, locally owned pharmacy is partnering with Upland Health & Diagnostics Center, where nurse practitioners offer care and prescriptions to Taylor students.
"It takes the load off of (the Health Center)," said Susan Ralston, head pharmacist and owner, speaking about the relationship between the joint services. The healthcare center will now direct all students to the pharmacy to pick up the free generic drugs offered, such as non-prescription cough syrup and first aid items.
Although the Health Center is open only to students, Upland Healthcare Pharmacy serves both the campus and Upland community. Ralston said she is excited to get the word out and to advocate the many benefits the pharmacy has to offer, including close proximity and a broad acceptance of students' insurance plans.
Stacey Gillenwater works as a housekeeper at Taylor and lives three miles south of the University. She said she was happy in the past with the pharmacy's speedy service and will definitely resume using its services.
"They're community people-very personable," Gillenwater said. "(They) didn't make you feel out of place. If you needed something they didn't have, something special, they'd order it in. Usually their prices were very, very good."
Gillenwater is not the only one pleased by the return of Upland Healthcare Pharmacy. KC Hackman, Taylor's head athletic trainer, said the reopening bodes well for his department.
"If our doctor sends in a prescription, Susan (Ralston) is great to work with," Hackman said. "We may have odd requests, but she works with us to sort it out."
After the pharmacy's closure in 2013, Hackman said the athletic department struggled to find a pharmacy that would provide large quantities of prescription-strength medication without demanding a separate prescription for each order. Taylor is required to have the medication on-site for athletes, and treating the transactions separately resulted in redundant effort from team physicians.
Ralston, however, doesn't make them wade through unreasonable paperwork, but interacts directly with the physicians to ensure a smooth process, Hackman said.
According to Ralston, the pharmacy's two-year wait to reopen was due to a contract previous ownership had with CVS pharmacy. She said it's been a challenge to reopen the pharmacy, but the wait has proven worthwhile. Gillenwater especially emphasized the benefit for sick or busy Taylor students.
"If you don't have a vehicle-a block across the street, compared to eight blocks across the road-it's kind of nice," Gillenwater said.
