- A new neighborhood pharmacy called Leon Pharmacy is now open in Woodville.
- Neighbors say that before it opened, they had to drive out of town to get pharmaceutical care.
- Watch the video to learn more about Leon Pharmacy's goals to meet the need in Woodville.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Filling the need for access to pharmaceutical care in Woodville— that's what a new neighborhood pharmacy aims to do for this rural community.
I'm Kenya Cardonne, your Southeast Tallahassee neighborhood reporter, looking into Leon Pharmacy's recent impact on the community and long term goals.
Jair Hernandez, Neighbor - "La necesidad es muy grande, sinceramente, la necesidad es muy grande."
The need for a neighborhood pharmacy in Woodville is very big, according to Jair Hernandez, who has worked at Woodville's Las Brazas Mexican Grill for years.
Hernandez - "La única farmacia que tenemos cerca, nos queda hasta Tallahassee o Crawfordville."
He tells me the nearest pharmacies are out of town, forcing neighbors to drive out to Crawfordville or inner Tallahassee to access pharmaceutical care.
Flipping the script for this rural community is a new neighborhood pharmacy called Leon Pharmacy.
Chirag Patel, Owner of Leon Pharmacy - "It's convenient for the community. They don't have to go far from the town."
Owner Chirag Patel opened it in March, offering prescription and over-the-counter medications, durable medical equipment, home health care products, and more.
He says opening a pharmacy in Woodville has been a goal of his for 5 years.
Patel - "It's a need for the community.. and I usually target in a rural area, and I see it's a needy place."
Another rural area he dedicates his time to is Steinhatchee, where his other pharmacy got washed out by Hurricane Helene, posing obstacles and delays in opening his Woodville location.
Now that Leon Pharmacy is here, neighbors say it's been a really big help.
Hernandez - "Hay veces que pasa algo, digamos, pues un poco grave, dolores ya un poco graves, y para ir hasta Tallahassee, osea, es mucho tiempo."
Hernandez explains, sometimes people have medical pains or situations, and it takes too long to drive out of Tallahassee to get pharmaceutical help.
Patel - "And most of the retired people, they have a difficulty going to the big cities with traffic and all that, and it's very convenient for them."
Patel says pharmacy is a health system and a need for everyone, and he plans to fill that need in Woodville for generations to come.
Patel - "It's like a family. Plus, [we] have that personalized service. That's what the community pharmacy provides."
Patel says the more that neighbors utilize this pharmacy, the more services he'll be able to offer the neighborhood, including diagnostic testing and immunizations.
In Southeast Tallahassee, Kenya Cardonne ABC 27
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