Page 18 - Retail Pharmacy March 2021

16 PHARMACY PROFILE ILLAWONG DISCOUNT DRUG STORE, NSW FAST FACTS Name: Connie Arronis. How long have you been a pharmacist? Seven years. How long have you operated at your current pharmacy? Four years \[at\] DDS, previously \[worked at\] an independent pharmacy. What professional services does your pharmacy offer? We offer a wide range of professional services, including influenza/whooping cough pharmacist vaccinations, home medication reviews, Webster packing, absence-from-work certificates, MedsChecks/diabetes MedsChecks, staged supply, simple compounding, as well as hearing checks, and blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring. What demographic does your pharmacy supply to? We primarily assist an elderly and retired demographic, but there are also many young families establishing themselves in the area. What size is the pharmacy? 116 sqm. What is your most successful OTC category in your pharmacy and why? Vitamins, as we encourage customers to use practitioner/pharmacy-only branded products and promote holistic health solutions to optimise patient outcomes. Describe your day-to-day challenges and how you overcome them. We’re located in a small shopping village complex that is mainly visited by direct local residents. Our team works hard daily to establish customer rapport, in order to build lasting patient relationships and encourage return business opportunities. What has been your most satisfying moment in the pharmacy? The relationships that I’ve built up with my customers over time \[have given me the most satisfaction\]. It’s so rewarding to be able to help patients and offer them comfort and reassurance. My favourite part of working at Illawong DDS is the fact that I know most of our customers by their first name, and when they come into the store, it feels like I’m welcoming friends. HARD-EARNED HONOURS FOR LEADER AND TEAM IBy Emily Devon. llawong Discount Drug Store (DDS) in Sydney’s south faced struggles like many others throughout 2020, but came out the other side shining brighter than ever. To add to the long list of achievements that Connie Arronis and her pharmacy have notched up, in 2020 Ms Arronis was recognised as the National Pharmacist of the Year for Discount Drug Stores in Australia. “Receiving this award, especially during the year of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, was truly such a special honour because so many pharmacists worked tirelessly in the industry over the course of the challenging year,” she said. Another accolade recognising Ms Arronis’ work came in August last year. “I was very humbled to be nominated anonymously by one of my customers for The Daily Telegraph’s ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign for Covid-19 frontline workers,” she said. “To know that a customer took time and effort out of their day to acknowledge me for something like that was phenomenal to me.” The honour roll doesn’t stop there. Illawong DDS received “the prestigious National Professional Services Award for Discount Drug Stores over two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 in recognition of our team’s extensive efforts in this field”. RETAIL PHARMACY • MAR 2021