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After a lengthy build-out process, Nashville's first full-service boutique pharmacy, Apothecary, is now open in the Gulch. The company founder, CEO, and pharmacist, Traci Poole, has been teaching within the pharmacy department at Belmont University for the past six years. Prior to that, the Virginia native spent years working in big-box pharmacies, a time when she developed the idea to reach a niche market of patients looking for a more personal experience.
'I started to feel like the pharmacy had become a negative place where patients dreaded to go, and the happiest customers were the ones who went to mom-and-pop stores like the old days,” Poole says.
She decided to create an environment not only where patients can feel comfortable, but also where she can exercise her training and experience more effectively. 'We weren't paid based on our knowledge; we were paid based on the [prescriptions] that we wrote,” Poole says. 'I didn't want to utilize my skills pushing scrips all day.”
At Apothecary, there's a consultation room where shoppers get quality time and discretion when speaking with a pharmacist, as well as privacy for receiving immunization shots.
'One of the things that sets us apart from the pharmacy world is that we're going to do whatever is necessary to take care of you,” Poole says. 'And by only offering products we believe in, that's where we set the standard of care.”
Her partner, Andrew Hicks, is a pharmacist and former student; he manages the pharmacy and runs the day-to-day operations. Hicks' father owns and operates an independent pharmacy in his hometown, so he witnessed firsthand the benefits of having an alternative to large-chain pharmacies. The pair use a system that synchronizes a customer's medications, allowing them to refill all prescriptions in one trip. 'It helps keep our inventory in check but also helps us keep up with their adherence,” Hicks says. This allows them to follow-up with patients every month, making sure they're taking medications as directed and happy with the results.
membership programs
Apothecary also offers aesthetic services and membership programs. Paige Hastings, a nurse practitioner and the store's director of aesthetics, has a private room in the back for free skincare consultations, plus services that range from neuromodulators like Botox, fillers like Juvederm and Restylane, and medical-grade peels from Skinceuticals.
There are four different membership programsEssentials, Wellness, Beauty, and Executivestarting at $35 a month, and they include delivery services to your home or office. The Beauty program boasts regular skincare checkups, quarterly Botox injections, a chemical peel, and discounts on other services and products, while the Executive provides a personal healthcare assistant to keep track of appointments and prescription refills, delivery services, urgent care visits, and 24-hour access to the pharmacists.
What's more, the store shelves are stocked with toiletries, over-the-counter remedies, and local brands like Music City Suds, Paddy Wax, Southern Firefly, and Little Seed Farms, as well as organic beauty lines like Farmaesthetics and ILIA Cosmeticsmeaning you can now get all of your healthcare needs from a local source, and you'll feel quite good about doing it.
226 11th Ave S, 615-645-9680; apothecarynashville.com