It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

A PioneerRx pharmacy in San Diego has been featured in their local news for being one of the first pharmacies to receive a shipment of COVID-19 blood testing kits – a quick new test that provides results in around 10 minutes. Eldahmy Wellness Pharmacy was highlighted for the way they have adapted their services to safely and conveniently care for their community.

With 2 locations in La Jolla and Barrio Logan, they are now administering tests for anyone in the community and performing them curbside to reduce contact. After filling out a screening questionnaire online, a patient can set up a time to come to the pharmacy. Patients who test positive are then referred to their primary physician and given a set of CDC guidelines to follow. Eldahmy Pharmacy is helping patients by offering the tests simply at-cost, or free for those who need financial assistance.

Owner Ahmed Eldahmy explains how his team has been keeping up with the constant changes and even started coming in early each day to do a team recap of the latest news. “It’s kind of a roller coaster. Every day, there’s new information…We try to keep up with all the updates, all the news…And then we just draft our own update for our patients and for our community in general.”

Eldahmy Pharmacy has recently seen a major demand for their free delivery service. They have hired more drivers and implemented a detailed training policy that emphasizes strict safety measures for protecting both the customers and the staff. They use the PioneerRx Mobile Delivery App to streamline their operations and assign each driver their own routes. “You guys have an amazing delivery app. It’s been very helpful to us actually…We’ve been using it since we opened and it is our third year now with the app,” notes Eldahmy. They have even created an online e-commerce store so that customers may order over-the-counter items to add to their prescription deliveries or have mailed to them.

But throughout all these continued services, Eldahmy emphasizes the importance of taking safety precautions. “At this point, we don’t know how long it will last. So, it’s a marathon – it’s not a sprint,” he says. “The very first and the most important thing is to take good care of your staff. Your staff is your responsibility – their safety is number one.”

The friendly staff at Eldahmy Wellness Pharmacy continues to do whatever they can to serve their community, and Ahmed Eldahmy knows that he needs to make sure they can safely keep doing so.

“If they’re good, and they’re healthy, and they’re being taken care of, then we can serve more and more people.”