By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
Two friends, both from small-town Manitoba and both pharmacists, have realized their dream of opening a practice together.
And for Osoyoos residents and visitors, this means another choice for not just getting prescriptions filled, but primary health care services such as immunizations, medication reviews and prescribing of certain medicines since the provincial government expanded the scope of what pharmacists can do.
Sun Valley Pharmacy has opened next to Starbucks in the same building as Sunshine Valley Family Chiropractic & Physiotherapy.
AJ Stewart and Geoff Namaka both cut their teeth working in the big chain corporate pharmacies, and both yearned for a setting that would allow them to get to know their customers, to be able to take the time to give health advice, and fulfill a role that is more than just filling prescriptions.
As the two note, their journey began, as many often do, with a simple idea. They wanted to combine their years of experience to create a pharmacy that would “feel personal, where the people of our community feel valued and supported.
“We wanted to build a pharmacy that is not just a place for prescriptions, but a hub of care and compassion. Sun Valley Pharmacy is the embodiment of that dream: a warm and welcoming place where our community can count on us for the very best service and care.”
The pharmacy is full service, with the only difference from other pharmacies in town being that it doesn’t have a big front-end retail operation.
AJ Stewart and his family.
Geoff Namaka, his wife and their four-legged family member.
Many in town probably already know AJ as he worked previously at the local Pharmasave. “My wife and I moved here in the fall of 2020 and really fell in love with the town and with the people and patients of ours around here.
Geoff and his wife came out slightly later, mid-2021, he says. “I’d like to say AJ kind of planted the seat of the Okanagan for us,” he laughs.
“AJ was out before us, and I remember we’re sitting there, it’s like cold and snowy and I’m working at the pharmacy in Winnipeg and we’re texting AJ about a new restaurant that opened, and he just replies with a picture him on the lake in a kayak, and it was like, sunny and warm.” That was the defining moment for Geoff and his wife, who also happens to be a pharmacist.
Not long after their bags were packed off to the Okanagan they came. Geoff and his wife are based out of Kelowna because of his wife’s specialty, which is only in demand in a larger hospital setting.
The two friends spent nearly two years brainstorming and planning to finally get to this point. AJ notes that “personally I didn’t think it was something I could do on my own, but with a partner it made it a lot more viable,” he says.
There is another satisfaction that comes from this achievement, he notes. “It kind of just boils down to my appreciation for the community and a lot of the relationships I’d established here already, and then really wanting to come back and serve the community that’s given me so much since I’ve moved out here.”
Sun Valley Pharmacy will hold a grand opening on Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a barbecue.
