{"id":325753,"date":"2020-07-02T06:04:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T20:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=325753"},"modified":"2020-07-02T06:04:54","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T20:04:54","slug":"brabu-pharmacy-we-can-never-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/brabu-pharmacy-we-can-never-close\/","title":{"rendered":"Brabu Pharmacy: We can never close"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
From left, Rafferty Dris, Robby Taman, Ted Parker, Lila Calvo, Erica Leon Guerrero, Theresa Zheng, and Ruella Ichuio. (BEA\u00a0CABRERA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the face of a raging COVID-19 pandemic, Brabu Pharmacy has remained true to its commitment to have the medicine the community needs, while staying vigilant about safety and health protocols. Now on its 11th year of service, your Brabu Pharmacy team is united more than ever to prioritize patients and their needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can never close and I really give my staff a lot of credit. They knew what they were signing up for and the people who have been here depending on the business for a long time. During one of our pep talks, we all agreed that we are going to take care of all of our patients in preparation when the virus reaches the Marianas,\u201d said pharmacy owner Ted Parker<\/p>\n

He said that temporarily closing the pharmacy was never an option \u201cas this is what we have to do,\u201d while taking as many precautionary measures as they can.<\/p>\n

Brabu sales representative Robby John A. Taman said that Ted and Kathy Parker were closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. mainland and the possible effects it will have in the CNMI. \u201cThey already knew that it would reach Saipan at some point and we had safety measures in our stores planned out so we were expecting it and were just waiting for the day when it will come. We had initial measures in place before Gov. [Ralph DLG] Torres released the directives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Brabu Pharmacy continues to disinfect touch points such as cashier area, pens, and door knobs. (BEA\u00a0CABRERA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe first month was really hectic. There was an overflow of workload as our patients tripled and there was a fear in the community that all pharmacies on island will run out of medicine and insurance companies will run out of coverage. At Brabu, we are glad we never experienced those and the companies that we worked with never left their clients hanging. \u2026We made sure that we have a good supply for patients every month,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In terms of service, Brabu Pharmacy has broadened their efficiency. They deliver medicine to homes and businesses, created a drive-thru option or \u201cExpress Tent\u201d for people who don\u2019t want to go inside the store, especially the elderly, and their other branches at MH2 Puerto Rico and Kagman are now open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always extend our service, whether it is prescription or non-prescription medicine. \u2026The tent outside helps us limit the number of people inside the store as we continuously monitor the touch points such as pens, counters and door knobs. We want to make sure that they are sanitized, keeping them clean and safe so we can continue to provide Brabu service to all customers,\u201d Taman said.<\/p>\n

He said they created the \u201cExpress Tent\u201d outside the pharmacy so customers can call Brabu in advance about the medicine or items they need and a pharmacy staff will assist the customer outside and the whole transaction only takes three to five minutes. \u201cThis allows us to bring the items straight to your car, instead of you having to come in to the store,\u201d Taman added.<\/p>\n

Pharmacy technician Lila Mailman said that going to work everyday may entail a little more risk but Brabu Pharmacy is making it safe for employees and patients. \u201cIt was overwhelming in the beginning but it was like after Super Typhoon Yutu. We kept our head down and continued working. \u2026 We take it day by day. We do our best and we try not to get flustered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want anyone to go without medicine and we are available to give good health care advice always. One of the reasons why we made Brabu safe is that many people right now just stay at home but if they know that the environment here is safe, they will keep coming,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Customer service is a huge deal at Brabu Pharmacy, according to cashier Shianne Agulto. \u201cI have made a few friends just tending to patients. There are some people who are open to making friends, [while] some people just come to get what they what they need. Either way, we try to engage so they will always feel comfortable whenever they are here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Parker stressed that the community can never let its guard down during this pandemic, no matter how many COVID-19 cases are here. \u201cI see a lot of people becoming cavalier, starting to not do the social distancing and other safety protocols. Look at the U.S. mainland. [It is not] only the elderly [that] are affected but even the young ones now. We have to stay vigilant and never let our guard down until we get through this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the event a vaccine becomes available, I imagine the hospital will be quick to get the vaccination because it is their job. But as soon that will be available to outside places, Brabu Pharmacy will be happy to get it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Brabu Pharmacy Gualo Rai is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm, with telephone number (670) 233-2668. Brabu Pharmacy at MH II Branch is open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 12pm, (670) 322-4898, and Brabu Pharmacy Kagman Branch (next to Ling Lin Market) is open Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5pm, (670) 256-2668.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the face of a raging COVID-19 pandemic, Brabu Pharmacy has remained true to its…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":325757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-325753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supplement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}