Feature Article October 31, 2001
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Sharbot Lake Pharmacy A business profileby David BrisonJocelyn and Nick Whalen knew they wanted to start a pharmacy business when they got married ten years ago. Jocelyn, a registered pharmacist, had been in a partnership with another pharmacist in Kingston. She operated the Medicine Shoppe on the corner of Clergy and Princess mostly on her own because her partner was involved in other stores. Nick, who was working around the corner at the Catholic church, used to stop in to buy the paper and chat.
Jocelyn
tried to buy her partner out and when he wouldnt sell, she and Nick
started looking for another site where they could open a similar type
of pharmacy one that was small enough to allow personal contact
with the customers, and which emphasized drug prescription rather than
the selling of related retail items.
They considered Tamworth, but settled on Sharbot Lake, even they had been told that it was somewhat small to support a pharmacy. However, they liked the community and thought they could make it work. Jocelyns family had a cottage in North Frontenac and her father encouraged them to set up shop in Sharbot Lake.
The first five years were really tough, and if we werent so stubborn, we would have given up then, said Nick. However, they kept at it and now have a very successful small business. Their sales have continued to grow each year they have not yet reached a plateau and levelled out.
Jocelyn is a familiar face now, but it took a long time for people to develop a level of trust. However, Nick stresses that they have had a lot of encouragement right from the very beginning.
They commuted from Kingston for the first year, and then bought a home in Godfrey. Five years ago, when their son Jacob was born, they bought a house on Road 38, south of Sharbot Lake. Daughter Meriel, now 3, completes the family.
We
have very nice and supportive customers.
After Jacob was born, he got presents almost every day for a
year. People feed us they bring us treats all the time, said
Nick.
People trust pharmacists, and once they got to know Jocelyn, they confided many of their health- related problems to her. Both Nick and Jocelyn mentioned one of the problems that this level of trust and familiarity brings: It is very hard when your customers die.
The pharmacy is a true partnership between Nick and Jocelyn. Nick has responsibility for the business side he does the accounting and most of the ordering for the store. He also has had to keep abreast of rapid changes in technology. Pharmacies are computer-dependent and Nick acts as troubleshooter on the technical side. Nick also counts pills under Jocelyns supervision.
Nicks education didnt necessarily prepare him for the work he does in the pharmacy. He has an M.A. in psychology from St. Francis in Indiana, and a M.A. in theology from Notre Dame, also in Indiana.
Jocelyn uses a computer system for the ordering and prescribing drugs. The system was developed by PROPHARM a division of Drug Trading. Drug Trading was recently taken over by Katz, a large conglomerate, largely because of the computer programs developed by PROPHARM. Nick says that the merger will give the parent company far more buying power, which could bring prices down. The dispensing fee at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy is already low $7.99, compared to an Ontario average of $9.68.
One of the problems Jocelyn runs into is that relief pharmacists are hard to find, particularly ones familiar with the computer program she uses. This means that she usually has to work six days a week, because there has to be a pharmacist on site when the store is open. Jocelyn has a friend, Barbara Hale, who occasionally comes up one day a week to give her a rest. A cottager, Marge Heatherington, also helps out.
Four
local women work in the pharmacy. Joan Monk, assisted by a
state-of-the-art pill counter, works in the pharmacy assisting
Jocelyn. Pat Wiley, Leslie Whiteman, and Maureen Cumberland help out
in the store.
More medications are being prescribed, and the knowledge of these drugs, their effects and side effects, including the interaction with other drugs, is increasingly complex. Every week, in spite of the many demands on her time, Jocelyn manages to write a weekly column for The News. Her column is a valuable public service, and is widely read. Many people I talked to when preparing this story told me that they are thankful that they have a knowledgeable pharmacist in the community to advise them about the medications they are taking. Many others said that Nick and Jocelyn were wonderful people to have in the community.
