{"id":1319398,"date":"2020-04-11T21:54:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T03:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=995448"},"modified":"2020-04-12T17:51:20","modified_gmt":"2020-04-12T23:51:20","slug":"monday-profile-prescribing-for-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/monday-profile-prescribing-for-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Profile: Prescribing for the community"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"725\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Crowprofile-GPI-041320-1024x725.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Crowprofile-GPI-041320-1024x725.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Crowprofile-GPI-041320-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Crowprofile-GPI-041320-768x544.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Crowprofile-GPI-041320-1536x1087.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/04\/Crowprofile-GPI-041320-2048x1450.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Margie Crow with her dogs Molly, Phoebe and Daisy at her home in Canyon Creek.<\/strong><br \/><em>Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Downtown Drug was conceptualized out of a need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Center Drug were still here there wouldn\u2019t be a Downtown Drug; there just wouldn\u2019t be a need for it,\u201d said Downtown Drug co-owner and pharmacist Margie Crow.<\/p>\n<p>It was a rough transition from Center Drug and Thrifty Payless to Rite-Aid that brought people to begging for somewhere else to go.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen(customers) lost Center Drug, people were saying please give us somewhere different; give us somewhere to go besides Walmart,\u201d Crow said. \u201cWhen Rite-Aid came in it was brutal. They were firing people, they changed it, it was an ugly switch-over. So that\u2019s why we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row gspi-donation gspi-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/PI-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/03\/pi-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Over two decades later Downtown Drug is still the local go-to pharmacy.<\/p>\n<p>Growing up in Wisconsin, Crow never really thought about becoming a pharmacist. It wasn\u2019t until a college advisor led her in that direction while she was attending school at the University of Wyoming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just wandered into it. It was just available back then, it wasn\u2019t like I always wanted to be a pharmacist,\u201d Crow said.<\/p>\n<p>While still living in Wyoming, Crow met her husband Pete at a small airport in Saratoga in 1978. Crow was taking flying lessons while Pete was already a Pilot. After also receiving her pilot\u2019s license, the two went on near-daily flights around the Platte River Valley.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was working at a pharmacy in Hannah, Wyoming I had the option to fly or drive to work,\u201d she said. \u201cIt basically took about the same time because I would have to bike a mile to work from the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For many years the two spent time between Aspen and Wyoming. Crow would work at various pharmacies in Aspen as a relief pharmacist before they officially made the move to Glenwood in 1993.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It was at Center Drug where Crow met her later business partners Bridgitte Doane and Myra Tobias where they worked through the switch over to Thrifty Payless and eventually the difficult buy-out by Rite-Aid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGod bless Myra, she came with us and Bridgette when it switched over and got difficult. And here we all are, 22 years later,\u201d Crow said.<\/p>\n<p>Crow gives her husband Pete credit for the development of the locally owned pharmacy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is the vision and the courage for the drug store, I never would have had the courage to do this,\u201d Crow said. \u201cHe\u2019s the reason for Downtown Drug.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Originally at 817 Grand Ave. in 1998, the downtown pharmacy moved to it\u2019s current location in 2000 after the Odd Fellows offered the building at 825 Grand Ave. as a rent-to-own opportunity.&nbsp; It was the vision of the Odd Fellows to have a centrally located downtown drug store Crow said.<\/p>\n<p>On the first day Downtown Drug opened they filled six prescriptions; that number has since grown to an amount that keeps them busy from open to close.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was very scary (opening a business). I was pretty sure we were going to be living on the streets. We filled six prescriptions on the first day but that number kept building and building,\u201d Crow said.<\/p>\n<p>Pharmacy technician and buyer for the store Myra Tobias started working at Center Drug in 1981 when she was still a teenager. She made the move over with Margie in \u201998 because of the negative changes that came with the transition to Rite-Aid. Her son Andrew also works at Downtown Drug as the store clerk on the front end.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been great (working at Downtown Drug), we are close-knit and we do stuff outside the store together,\u201d Tobias said. \u201cIt\u2019s so much different than working for a corporation. We handle everything right here and it\u2019s less stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pandemic<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Crow and her crew have been steadily finding ways to adapt to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. They recently began offering curbside and back door pick-up options to limit the number of customers entering the store. Signs are posted on the front door to instruct and encourage customers to knock or call when they arrive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s changed our flow, it\u2019s still good and we miss having the face-to-face with customers but it\u2019s just not the thing to do right now for their safety and ours,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Downtown Drug has offered a unique delivery service since it\u2019s opening. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the participation numbers for that service have doubled from around 10% to 20% as people have been instructed to stay home to slow the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Outside the pharmacy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the last 20 years, the Crows have been adopting senior dogs as payback for having, what they considered, the best dog ever. They currently have three dogs: Molly, Phoebe and Daisy all of which are over the age of 8.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just the way to go, even if you have them a few years, it\u2019s so rewarding,\u201d she said. &nbsp; \u201cThey come with some baggage but don\u2019t we all? It takes some time to get to know each other, the dog has a history so you have to learn who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When not out on the river or relaxing with the old pups, the Crows enjoy participating in activities with the local Elk\u2019s Lodge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a huge part of our lives as an opportunity to volunteer in our community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe thing I would say about Downtown Drug is that it\u2019s not about me. Pete had the courage to do it and Myra was right there from the beginning, she brought knowledge on how to set the shelves. Bridgette is the pharmacy smarts,\u201d Crow said. \u201cI\u2019m kind of just the grunt in all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"mailto:cself@postindependent.com\">cself@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/monday-profile-prescribing-for-the-community\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Margie Crow with her dogs Molly, Phoebe and Daisy at her home in Canyon Creek.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Downtown Drug was conceptualized out of a need. \u201cIf Center Drug were still here there wouldn\u2019t be a Downtown Drug; there just wouldn\u2019t be a need for it,\u201d said Downtown Drug co-owner and pharmacist Margie Crow. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1319398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-04 02:57:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1319398"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319402,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319398\/revisions\/1319402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1319398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1319398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1319398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}