Community Health Pharmacist Stefanie Buffum, PharmD, believes in personal attention and the importance of community. “We have more of a hometown touch,” Buffum said. “We are able to better serve patients and give them a more personal experience.” With several area pharmacies closing, Buffum sees Brandon Community Pharmacy as a vital community service.
The pharmacy, located inside the Community Health Brandon practice, is a fully operational retail pharmacy, open to the public. “People don’t have to be a Community Health patient to use the pharmacy,” Buffum said. And, Brandon Community Pharmacy remained open during the pandemic. “People still needed their medications, so it was important for us to continue to stay open,” she said.
The personal attention given to patients following an appointment with their primary care provider, the person with a medication question or the walk-in who needs to fill a prescription are all provided the access and response from a qualified pharmacy team. “Patients can walk out of the medical center, come right next door and have their medications ready for them,” she said.
Buffum, who received her doctorate in pharmacy studies at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was one of the original pharmacists hired when Community Health opened Brandon Community Pharmacy in 2010.
In October, Buffum added Pharmacist Ryan Waltzer, PharmD, to the team. A graduate of Syracuse University and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Waltzer's philosophy of care is “to provide outstanding patient care through extensive pharmacological knowledge with an emphasis on empathy.”
Waltzer is certified in medication therapy management and immunization administration and has special interest in opioid addiction treatment and management and palliative and hospice care. He also sees the benefits of specialized bubble packing, or blister packing, of medications, one of the services offered to Brandon Community Pharmacy customers.
"We take the patient's medications and we’ll put them all into one blister pack. We set it up one month at a time. This makes it easier for patients, increases compliance and can lead to better health outcomes," Buffum said.
During the pandemic, Brandon Community Pharmacy had implemented some shortened hours but the pharmacy was never closed. "The pharmacy needed to be open for the community," Buffum said. "Patients still needed their medications so it was important for the pharmacy to remain open for the community."
Brandon Community Pharmacy offers curbside pickup, local delivery and mailing services for medications. The pharmacy will deliver within four miles of Brandon and will also mail most prescriptions for free. "We have been mailing for a while, but have received more mailing requests since COVID," she said.
Open six days a week, the pharmacy hours are:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 7a-7p
- Wednesday and Friday 8:30a-6:30p
- Saturday 9a-1p
All Community Health locations are open and accepting patients. For more information about Community Health and Brandon Community Pharmacy, check our website (www.chcrr.org) or https://www.chcrr.org/pharmacy/brandon-community-pharmacy/.
Community Health is Vermont’s largest FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center), a network of primary care, pediatric, behavioral health, dental and pharmacy services with offices in Rutland, Brandon, Castleton, West Pawlet and Shoreham. Community Dental offices are located in Rutland and Shoreham, Community Health Pediatrics is in Rutland and Behavioral Health services are available at all of our locations. Community Health Express Care centers, open 7 days-a-week, are located at the Rutland and Castleton Community Health Centers.
The mission of Community Health (Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region) is to improve the health and wellness of all people in the communities we serve by providing access to excellent medical and dental primary care regardless of any financial consideration.