The Williamsburg Drug Company has started a new series of free educational talks related to various topics in health care.
Williamsburg Drug Company hosted its first ever “Wellness Wednesday” last month as part of a series of long-running discussions and presentations from local doctors and experts to provide customers with the opportunity to learn more about various health-related subjects.
The first event discussed the positive effects of CBD oil on pain and featured Dr. Leland Stillman, who answered questions from guests about the product.
Each week will feature a new and hot topic based on feedback from guests and customers, said Toni Johnson, a pharmacy technician at Williamsburg Drug Company.
“It’s super important to me because I get to learn what doctors are passing along to us,” she said. “It helps my job and the patients we work with by making those connections to better serve the community.”
Johnson is in charge of planning the weekly events. She said she had been interacting with pharmacists and customers to hear what topics or questions are commonly brought up during transactions.
“Aside from being seen at a doctor’s office, studies have shown that patients spend a lot of time seeking medical advice from pharmacists,” Johnson said. “So when we are discussing what to talk about, we look at where we feel there are holes in communication and how we can best educate everyone.”
Johnson added that there are also many people who come into a pharmacy, pick up their prescription and leave. But she wanted customers to know about the different services that pharmacies, especially Williamsburg Drug Company, can offer such as supplements and personalized testing for various stages of diseases and life.
The Wellness Wednesday series comes on the heels of the business opening its new location on Jamestown Road in December. Johnson said the new location provided more space to host events and employees such as herself wanted to provide customers with the opportunity to interact with the new area.
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The Wellness Wednesday events are currently being held downstairs where there is a bar area with seating but as the event gets larger, Johnson said it will be moved to the upstairs portion of the building which can hold about 30 people.
With just one session of the series under her belt so far, Johnson said she feels as though there is a lot of excitement already from customers and pharmacists to see what topics will be covered next.
“It’s super important to better educate everyone on their own health and how we can be a part of them optimizing [it],” Johnson said. “We’re hoping these talks light the sparks in people’s brains to be curious about their own health.”
For March 4, Wellness Wednesday will feature pharmacists TW Taylor and Jamie Ried for a discussion on autism, ADHD and other spectrum disorders.
It will be from noon to 1 p.m.
On March 11, Wellness Wednesday will be on brain health.
On April 1, Wellness Wednesday will feature pharmacist Jaime Reed in a discussion on the seven-day core restore detox.
For more information, visit the pharmacy on Facebook.
