MacKenzie Drugs is no longer offering Canada Post services out of its building on North Railway, a 50-year service it has concluded due to ongoing instability coming out of the Crown corporation.--NEWS PHOTO ANNA SMITH
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Thursday marked the final day for Canada Post services out of MacKenzie Drugs, as the local pharmacy looks to the future.
While there have been Canada Post services at the pharmacy for more than 50 years, recent years have caused a strain on the longstanding relationship, says owner Dana Castillo Welz.
“It’s always been our goal that we wanted to serve our patients and our community and we think right now is the best for us to get rid of it,” said Castillo Welz. “We’ve been frustrated with the most recent postal strikes, something that we share with a lot of our customers that have come in. Because of that, we feel like we’re not providing a great service for our community.”
She says she recognizes that the way the community delivers things is also changing, something that contributed to the decision.
“We tried to find a way to keep Canada Post viable for business, but they weren’t really willing to figure out a solution. At the end of the day, with all the strikes, we weren’t delivering a service that was consistent,” said Castillo Welz.
“I think because of the most recent changes with Canada Post, there’s been competition that’s come up, and for good reason. We’re looking at exploring more of a relationship with those avenues.”
The space will be used to expand their pharmaceutical services, as Castillo Welz says they will always be a pharmacy first before any other services they may provide. She says they will now be able to do more prescribing, travel consulting and work with palliative care providers and addictions counsellors.
Those who received Canada Post packages at the MacKenzie Drugs post office will have their packages redirected to the nearest Canada post location. Notices have already been sent out.
As for MacKenzie Drugs itself, Castillo Welz assured it is continuing to thrive as it moves into this new chapter.
