Introduction of Guest Speaker: President Len introduced Dr. Dana Murdy, owner of Shoppers Drug Store, saying it was a pleasure to have her speak to us.

 

Guest Speaker – Dr. Dana Murdy:  At age 18, Dana sold balloons for her dad for Rotary to raise funds for the hospital.  She wanted to tell Rotarians what it is like to do business in Huntsville “post Covid”, in the real world. 

Dana has deep roots in this community. She is a graduate of University of Toronto with degrees in toxicology and pharmacology.  She was chair of Fairvern for four years.  Her business, Shoppers Drug Mart is a retail, full-service business with 45 employees, they are inclusive, and they support the community.  The pharmacy is 51% of what happens in the store.  There are three full-time pharmacists and two part-time.  They are seeking more fulltime pharmacists.  Prescriptions are up 30% since Covid.  Her pharmacy was a front-line operation during Covid, and they did hundreds of PCR tests and gave over 25,000 vaccines. 

 

Since Covid, pharmacies have a larger role in health care, offering a full slate of clinical services, helping for increasing numbers of issues.  They can do a thorough check on the patient’s history to expand their scope of service, and can deal with 19 minor and short-term ailments, with more to come. 

 

Housing is a detriment to acquiring more staff.  Theft is high, and a major impact.  The last drug reform was enacted in 2014 so the fees they can charge have not changed to suit the times.  Dana thanked the Rotarians for listening to her views on doing business in Huntsville. 

 

President Len thanked Dana and presented her with a Service Above Self pin.