You can’t call your doctor at night, but in the village of Thamesford, you can usually find your pharmacist.
That accessibility sits at the heart of Pharmasave Thamesford, where Pharmacy Manager Marcie Prior has spent decades building the kind of rapport that only comes from staying put in a small community.
“We are a retail pharmacy here in the village of Thamesford,” Marcie said. “Our core offering is prescription medications, over-the-counter products, and now we assess and prescribe treatments for minor ailments. Add publicly funded vaccines to that list, and it’s clear the pharmacy has grown into something closer to a front-line healthcare hub than a simple prescription counter.
The pharmacy itself has been part of Thamesford for decades, but Marcie’s own path into pharmacy started well before she ever set foot in the village. It began with a cashier position in St. Thomas back in 1994.
“From there, I did my undergraduate Bachelor of Science degree at Western University,” she said. The pharmacist who owned that St. Thomas pharmacy encouraged all four of his pharmacy assistants and cashiers to pursue pharmacy school — and remarkably, all four did. Marcie went on to study at the University of Toronto for four years before deciding city life wasn’t for her.
“I wasn’t ready to stay in Toronto. I had grown up in St. Thomas, so it was culture shock being in Toronto.” she said. She returned to the London area and has worked across several rural communities since, but it’s rural pharmacy specifically that keeps pulling her back.
“I think that in rural pharmacy, we can help our patients more than in the big cities, where there’s lots of resources for people,” she said. “There are many people in Oxford County without a primary care practictioner, and in addition, doctors are busier than ever before and so the need for healthcare advice is real. These patients need help — they have questions outside of their doctor’s office hours. We’re the main healthcare resource in this village.”
With over more than 30 years serving Elgin, Middlesex, and Zorra, Marcie has built something she considers a genuine point of pride — and it’s not limited to human patients.
In addition to human needs and medications, Marcie does see many animal patients for their prescription medications. In the last year, pharmacists are now able to dispense medications for animal prescriptions. This is a new pharmacy offering and one that Marcie feels very passionately about. She reminds us- animal patients are always welcome at Thamesford Pharmasave!
Running a pharmacy — and the people who keep it running — has taught Marcie one lesson above all others.
“If you hire good people with good ethics and good morals, and you’re present day to day where they can see you as a leader, they will follow suit,” she said. “Your patients are taken care of because you take care of your staff well.”
That same philosophy shapes the advice she’d give anyone starting out, particularly in healthcare, where a new business often opens with an empty appointment book.
“You have no customers and no patients — I’ve been in the position of starting a brand new pharmacy where you have no prescriptions in a day,” she said. “But if you take the time to get to know your patients, not just as patients, but as humans, they will take care of the business — they will spread word of mouth, and they will bring their neighbours and their friends.” See them only as patients, she added, and that trust never fully forms.
Marcie calls this one of the most exciting stretches she’s seen in her 32 years in the profession — and the changes keep coming. Pharmacists can now prescribe for a growing list of minor ailments, including pinworms, tick bites, ringworm, dry eye, urinary tract infections, and yeast infections, freeing up walk-in clinics and emergency rooms for more serious cases. Starting this fall, Pharmasave Thamesford will also offer publicly funded vaccines, including RSV for people 65 to 75, Tdap, pneumococcal, and Shingrix for shingles for those aged 65 to 70.
“Historically, we only administered Flu and Covid vaccines provided by the Ministry of Health in addition to out-of-pocket vaccines such as Twinrix, Shingrix, RSV and Pneumococcal vaccines” Marcie said. “Now we have access to the publicly funded vaccines. That improves our ability to provide many of the publicly funded vaccines, thus improving our offering and also ensuring family physicians aren’t spending their time administering vaccines. With the provision of these additional offerings, pharmacists are working with the healthcare system to free up time for the walk in clinics, primary care practitioners and emergency rooms”
Behind the scenes, that shift means pharmacy assistants and technicians are taking on more of the technical work — counting, processing, filling — so pharmacists can spend more one-on-one time with patients. “That’s where we can provide the most help,” Marcie said. “But, that doesn’t come easily. Spending more one-on-one time with patients cannot be done without dedicated and skilled staff to do the majority of the day to day pharmacy procedures and prescriptions. I cannot emphasize enough that the pharmacy staff are the true heroes who allow pharmacists to take on additional responsibilities.”
For Marcie, that face-to-face connection is exactly what makes rural pharmacy worth the daily drive from the London area.
“I like the small-town feel, I like being part of the community, and being a pillar in that community,” she said. In a city, patients might visit any of dozens of pharmacies. In Thamesford, they come to the same one, every time. “You have that rapport — you know their medical history, their current issues/concerns and that all aids in improving your ability to impact their healthcare outcomes.” She’s been asked to give presentations at the local library and walk small groups through their health questions in person — requests she welcomes. “It’s a privilege to care for a village of people in that way.”
Pharmasave Thamesford has been serving the community since 1981, and Marcie considers herself part of its second generation of leadership, following longtime pharmacist Candice Yates, who spent 25 years at the pharmacy and still works there today!
“She really knows everybody and has cared for the people in this village for a long time,” Marcie said. Her hope is simple: that people in the village know the pharmacy — and its full range of services — is there for them. Beyond prescriptions and vaccines, that includes medication reviews, consultations, and diabetes counselling, an area of particular focus for Marcie. “Our staff is happy to welcome new people, and we’d like the village to support the pharmacy.”
Pharmasave Thamesford
Marcie Prior, B.Sc., B.Sc.Phm., R.Ph. – Pharmacy Manager
141 Dundas Street, Thamesford
Zorra Township
Established 1981
pharmasave.com/thamesford
facebook.com/ThamesfordPharmasave