Nestled in the Newark Piedmont Basin is the small city of Parsippany, New Jersey, home to Wegmans #128. Although their pharmacy isn’t considered one of the busiest in the chain—New York City is just 40 minutes away—the slower pace that comes with living and working in a smaller community offers an opportunity the team at Wegmans takes advantage of. 

“We are lucky to have the time,” pharmacy technician Susan Odum, CPhT, says. “We’re still busy, a little bit hectic, but we take the time to give the customers the best service that we can.”

As one of three staff pharmacists, Eric Sadlier, Pharm.D., says the team focuses on creating an environment where everyone feels safe and supported. “Our company pushes for customer-first service,” he explains. “We try to create a safe, friendly, family-oriented environment for staff and then that passes along to the customers, who become almost like family.”

At Wegmans #128, Dr. Sadlier works alongside Pharmacy Area Manager Stanley Kozek, Pharm.D., Sandy Sparta, R.Ph., as well as Odum and additional pharmacy technicians Katie Carr, CPhT, Virginia Lanza, and Deborah Charles.

Video by Jeff Springer; produced by Deep Dive Films

In addition to offering customers important health screening tools like blood pressure readings and dietary recommendations, staff members also participate in health fairs where they give out nutritious snacks and provide informational pamphlets on cholesterol and diabetes management. 

“We also hold immunization clinics for local businesses and nursing homes in the area,” Dr. Kozek says. “We always try our best to help support the local community in any way we can.” 

During the pandemic, the team extended its services beyond the walls of the pharmacy by visiting nearly every Department of Motor Vehicle office in the state to offer COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to working with private companies and senior living facilities, the pharmacy also partnered with the New Jersey State Lottery at a local fair to offer the vaccine at the height of the pandemic.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and energy trying to make vaccines affordable and available to those in the public who might not be able to go out and get one, whether it’s because they’re working or just don’t think about it,” Dr. Sadlier says. 

The store even started a program that follows up with patients who fill a prescription for an antibiotic to ensure that even after they’ve left the pharmacy, their health and recovery are supported.

“We follow up with them once they’re off their antibiotics to see if they had success and their infection went away,” Dr. Sadlier says. “If they’re still not feeling great, we try to communicate with their doctor for them because they might need to be seen again. We want them to know we really care about their health.”

It’s this dedication to service that has allowed the team at Wegmans to develop important relationships with their community. Here, we speak with Lanza, Dr. Sadlier, and Odum about how they support their customers and each other to create a patient-first pharmacy.

Tell us about your team.

Susan Odum, CPhT (pharmacy technician): We are very much a team: We all jump in wherever we’re needed, which is good. Our area manager, Stanley, says that he would never give a job to someone that he wouldn’t do himself. Everybody does everything that they’re able to do. We work really well together.

Eric Sadlier, Pharm.D. (pharmacist): The main thing we try to establish here is creating a good work environment for staff, and then that passes along to the customers. We have a safe, friendly, family-oriented work environment. Then the customers almost become like family toward us as well, too. Because we’re a smaller store, we tend to know a lot of our customers’ names. When they come in, we ask, “Hey, how are you doing? How’s your kid? How are they doing in college?” We have more of a family atmosphere here.

What is your team’s approach to patient care?

Odum: A cornerstone of Wegmans is outstanding customer service. We are often out of the pharmacy, taking customers into the aisles to show them where different items are. We take the time to listen to what they’re looking for and what they need. 

Virginia Lanza (pharmacy technician): We take the mindset of: If we were in their shoes, how would we react? For example, if someone reacts negatively, we know that they’re not actually mad at us—they’re mad at the situation. We try to stay calm in any kind of situation.

How do you develop relationships with your patients?

Lanza: There are a lot of patients who walk up and I know who they are. They like that we know who they are, that we interact with them and learn about things that aren’t only pharmacy-related. For example, we talk about whether they went on vacation. Once we get to know someone, it helps lead to a conversation where we are able to ask them more questions about their medications.

Odum: We have a lot of recurring customers and we know a lot of their personal stories and who’s dealing with what illness. We even know their pets and fill their pets’ medications. 

How does your team dynamic impact your customers?

Odum: Because our team works so well together, we’re able to take the time to get to know our customers a little bit more personally, just to be able to give that higher level of personal care. 

Lanza: We are a smaller team, so we get each other cakes or our favorite desserts for our birthdays. We’ll go out for holiday parties and celebrate special occasions. Having a good family-type environment at work helps us be able to help our customers with more ease. We’re feeling more relaxed because we know that we’re surrounded by good people, both who we work with and our customers.

What is something your team does to help your patients?

Dr. Sadlier: The main thing we try to do here is save patients money. If our staff sees a medication come through with a price that seems too high, they will look for other options. We also have a system that prompts us to explore other options if a medication is too expensive, whether it’s through SingleCare or manufacturer coupons. We’ve had multiple people come in with high deductible plans, where they’re expected to pay the full cash price. Sometimes we’re able to save them up to 70%.

People often don’t want to come into the pharmacy because they’re sick, and then they see that their medication’s going to cost them more than $100—that’s not fun. We try to put ourselves in their shoes and find a price they would be comfortable with.

Can you share a favorite customer service experience?

Odum: One of our customers handles most of the care for her husband. They had been to the doctor and somehow the prescription didn’t get sent to us. It was sent to a mail order department through their insurance, and the wife panicked because it was an important medication and her husband was almost out of pills. 

It was the weekend and she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it. A few of us worked together on the issue over the weekend, making a lot of phone calls. When he was down to his last tablet, she was able to come and pick up the prescription. She was extremely grateful that we had taken the time to make sure he wouldn’t have to skip that medication and she wouldn’t have to pay a ton of money for it with the insurance hold-up.

Dr. Sadlier: I had an older customer whose wife was in the ICU for C. diff. He was currently a cancer patient, and he had a low immune system. He was telling me his healthcare provider prescribed him clindamycin for his dental procedure, and right away, I was alarmed. Clindamycin has a chance to cause C. diff, especially in those who are immunocompromised and older, Plus, he had been around his wife, who already had C. diff. I called the doctor, and we were able to change his medication to something that we thought was a bit safer. 

Because I knew about this patient’s personal life and knew what was going on with his wife, I was able to have an important clinical interaction. Things like that—being able to be connected with the customers and know what’s going on in their lives—actually make huge impacts.