Alexandra Pharmacy celebrates four decades of operation

OWNERS of Alexandra Community Pharmacy, Ian and Linda Davis, invited the community to celebrate 40 years of operation with them last Friday, 23 October. There was a cake for staff to enjoy, balloons, and locals had the opportunity to place their name in a box in the pharmacy, with 40 lucky people winning a gift if their name was drawn by Ian. Ian has been working as a pharmacist in Alexandra for the past 40 years but has been a pharmacist for 60 years; at Elsternwick prior to moving here. Linda’s family were in Alexandra, prompting the move to the country and setting up shop as the Alexandra Pharmacy. Through the years, they have seen computerisation introduced and the changing role of the community chemist. “People used to come in and be consulted, but now, you could go forward and tell them about their medicines, which have become more powerful and there can be side effects, etcetera, and one can cancel the other out,” Ian said. They operated during the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, opening specially and filling prescriptions for people from the fire impact area. “You could tell when somebody walked through the door… Whether or not they’d lost their home,” Ian said. It’s been a long and wild ride for Ian and Linda, but four decades of operation is an incredible achievement. They support community, and in turn community supports them.