New pharmacy projected for 2017

Grand Coulee Dam area residents may soon have a second option for where they pick up their prescription drugs.

Coulee Medical Center expects to have a new retail pharmacy up and running by early 2017, according to Jonathan Owens, chief executive officer.

“We have had multiple request from the community for a new pharmacy and our board felt this was a service that was something that they also supported,” Owens said. Currently the only place for local residents to fill their prescriptions is the Safeway pharmacy.

Revenue projections for the pharmacy are unavailable since it is not a pre-existing pharmacy with an established clientele. It will take an estimated 3-6 months after completion to get a sense of what the pharmacy will bring in, according to Kevin Walker, pharmacy director at CMC.

Owens told commissioners at the Hospital District 6 meeting Monday night that they are excited to hopefully sign a contract soon with a candidate who would run the pharmacy, and bring him in to look at the final phases of construction and opening of it.

The pharmacy will be located on the CMC campus, with a few options being explored for cost effectiveness, including the former CAT scan building. More solid projections, including construction costs, for the new CMC pharmacy should be available as early as December.