Sharp ’00, Winyah helping the most vulnerable

Heather Sharpe ’00 is helping some of the most at-risk populations for coronavirus infection survive the pandemic. As director of pharmacy services for Winyah Pharmacy Solutions, which offers a full-range of pharmacy services for long term care communities, she is helping Winyah continue to meet the needs of those vulnerable patients as safely as possible.

The epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States was a Washington long-term facility, which can be conducive to spreading infection among visiting family, caregivers, residents, and others in close contact. Sharpe reported a number of adjustments at Winyah, including:

• We have gone from a returnable tote to a non-returnable bag system for delivery to avoid any cross contamination on delivery, we have also communicated with our customers for centralized delivery to mitigate the risk to our customers, their staff and residents.   

• We have implemented strict internal operations to protect our staff and our customers.  Temperature checks on entry into work, staggering work stations, and implementing multiple cleaning procedures.

• Communication is key in our business so we are reaching out to all our customers to make sure that their needs are met daily and have been able to help with providing necessary items such as hand sanitizer, gloves, and other items that we have been able to obtain for them.

• We have increased our inventory to try to combat any potential shortages in weeks or months to come.

One value Winyah offers its customers is consulting and education. With customers reluctant to admit outsiders, Winyah has started doing remote consulting, holding face time sessions with nurses, and virtual GoTo meetings for education.

They can also offer moral support. Recently, Sharpe put together a thank-you goody bag for their customers, who are dealing directly with the coronavirus threat every day

“Ultimately, we will be here for our customers to make sure they get through this unprecedented pandemic knowing we will all come out on the other side having a much better appreciation for each other!”