Grand Ronde pharmacy to temporarily relocate

A major remodel of the Grand Ronde Health & Wellness Center Pharmacy will begin the evening of Friday, Nov. 20, which will result in the pharmacy being moved to a temporary location in the Behavioral Health wing of the clinic until the conclusion of the remodel, currently scheduled for May 2027.

The pharmacy will be moved into its temporary location Friday, Nov. 13, and is closed all day.

During the remodel, the pharmacy will operate in a closed-door fashion similar to what was done during COVID.  This means that the pickup option will be changed to a curbside option. Patients without transportation can wait out of the weather in the clinic lobby for a staff member to bring their order. For those with transportation, there will be three dedicated parking stalls near the temporary location. These stalls will have signs that instruct the patients to call the main pharmacy number to let staff know they are here for a pick up and what spot they are in. Pharmacy staff will then run the order out to the patient. 

The pharmacy lockers will remain operational during the remodel but were moved Monday, Nov. 9, to a temporary location in the Cheryle A. Kennedy Public Health Building across the parking lot from the main clinic. All prescription orders that were in the lockers prior to that date will need to be picked up at the pharmacy. Mail service of prescriptions will remain unchanged due to the remodel.

“There will be plenty of signs to help direct patients to the new pharmacy and locker locations,” Tribal Pharmacy Director Lincoln Wright said. “If you have any questions about these changes, please call the pharmacy at 503-879-2342. … While these changes may be inconvenient, my assurance is that the remodel will help to ensure quality pharmacy care far into the future.”

Wright shared that in 2017, the pharmacy averaged less than 250 prescriptions per day but is now seeing upward of 500 and even 800 after a holiday. 

“Due to the increase in prescription orders the pharmacy staff has been expanded over time, but now there is no more room in the current space to add another workstation,” he said. “The pharmacy staff at the Great Circle Recovery Pharmacy in Salem help the Grand Ronde workload by performing prechecks and processing the insurance billing for about 30% of the prescriptions filled at Grand Ronde. After the pharmacy remodel, there will be five new workstations and an expanded mailroom, which will allow the department to grow as needed over time.”