McDonough District Hospital in Macomb will open the new pharmacy building on its campus on Jan. 15.
“We made a significant investment in this building,” said President and CEO Bill Murdock. He said it cost $8 to $9 million to build and equip the MDH Community Pharmacy.
Macomb already has four other pharmacies. Murdock said MDH decided to open another one to provide convenience for patients.
“We want them to come right out of the clinic, go right to the pharmacy, get their ‘scrips, and go home without running around, trying to get questions answered about the prescriptions and all that,” he said.
The MDH Community Pharmacy will be open seven days a week, and will employ four pharmacists and four technicians.
It will have a drive-thru window. It will also offer free home delivery, according to Nicole Dziuba, Community Pharmacy Director.
“We find that a lot of patients have difficulties finding a reliable ride. If we can make that more convenient for them and just drop that off at their home, the better,” she said.
Dziuba said customers can also schedule a brown bag appointment, in which they bring in all of their prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and supplements for an in-depth review with a pharmacist.
“We find that a lot of the time doctors don’t have enough time in their schedule to really sit down and do that,” Dziuba said.
“When it comes to all of those prescriptions, including the supplements and everything, your pharmacist is actually qualified to do that and have those in-depth conversations with you.”
She believes pharmacies are more accessible than a doctor’s office.
The building also has a private room where customers can get vaccinations.
Dziuba and Murdock both said that money spent at the MDH pharmacy will stay in the community rather than going to a corporation that’s headquartered elsewhere.
They said customers don’t have to be an MDH patient to use the pharmacy.
Ground was broken on the 9,800 square foot building in May 2023.
It’s located just south of the hospital’s main entrance.
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