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| Aroostook Republican photo/ Natalie Bazinet Frontier Pharmacy, co-owned by Joe Solomon, pictured here, and Kevin Bouchard, opened in Caribou this week and brings with it a new level of customer care. |
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — A new business in town is also an old favorite, as Frontier Pharmacy opens at a new Caribou storefront.
The new pharmacy, co-owned and operated by pharmacists Kevin Bouchard and Joe Solomon, was slated to open their doors earlier this week with services that they’re hoping will exceed customers’ expectations.
For starters — they’ll coordinate refills for individuals taking more than one medication.
“We’re trying to line up people’s refills so if they’re on five or six different medications, they can come to the pharmacy once per month instead of once per week — and we’ll be following up with people to make sure they don’t have any problems with their medication,” Solomon explained.
A pharmacist for the past 12 years, Solomon most recently worked at the Presque Isle Pharmacy at Graves Shop ‘N Save prior to opening Frontier Pharmacy. After over a decade in the field, he’s hoping that the entrepreneurial venture will allow him to place a greater emphasis on customer service while expediently filling prescriptions.
“Part of [opening the business] is that entrepreneurial spirit, part of it — and it sounds cliché — is to actually help people,” he explained.
Aside from dispensing medication, Soloman said he’s really looking forward to providing counseling and making sure customers are provided education about their medications; at Frontier Pharmacy, Soloman and Bouchard will be taking the time to make sure their customers know to “take this with food” and “this is what you do if you miss a dose,” along with “if you notice these side effects call your doctor” as well as “if this happens, it’s normal.”
“A lot of that stuff is just written down on a paper and put in the bag, but not really told,” Soloman said.
Aside from keeping consumers in the know about their medications, the pharmacists are hoping more customers will ask more questions about over the counter medications, vitamins and supplements to ensure that treatments and therapies aren’t clashing with prescription medications.
Transfering between pharmacys is as easy as making a phone call to 493-7771; from there, Frontier Pharmacy employees will take care of the rest; they’ll even call their customers before refills are slated to be completed to make sure the medication needs filling.
“If we call a customer on the first of the month to make sure they need their refill on the fifth, and they don’t need their refill, that means they haven’t been taking their medication properly — it might mean they forgot to take it twice a day … or maybe they’re having side effects and that’s why they’re not taking their medication,” Solomon explained.
“It’s taking care of people proactively that way,” he added, mentioning that many patients see their doctors only once a year while they’ll see their pharmacist once a month — Frontier Pharmacy wants to be a part of the whole health care team.
Already making sure that medications are ready to go and even remind customers that a refill is ready, Frontier Pharmacy employees are even going to make sure that medicine is easy to take.
For picky kids (or adults) who hate their medicine, Solomon suggests a new flavor.
“They can pick whatever flavor they want their medication to be; we have 15-20 flavors from orange to strawberry banana to grape and cherry,” he said.
Many will remember Frontier Pharmacy from their storefronts in Fort Fairfield and Caribou, with the Caribou business closing only about eight years ago, and Solomon is excited to bring back the quality customer care to the central Aroostook area.
“I think we have a lot of different ideas that aren’t really done in the current marketplace,” Solomon said.
Frontier Pharmacy, which includes a diverse selection of over the counter health care products, is open from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturdays located at 153 Bennett Drive. They can be reached by calling 493-7771.
