Longmont Salud Clinic adds drive-thru to expanded pharmacy

Sep. 20—Customers of the Salud Family Health clinic in Longmont can now refill their prescriptions without even stepping out of their cars.

After a grand opening ceremony last week, the Longmont Salud Clinic is celebrating the addition of a drive-thru to its pharmacy on the north side of the building. Construction began in April, and staff manning the new service window welcomed the first vehicles at the end of August.

"We're settling into a new routine," said Matthew Hall, pharmacy manager. "It's a bit intimidating to add a drive-thru to your pharmacy, but it's going to be a really good thing for access."

The drive-thru was made possible through the Boulder County 0.05% Worthy Cause tax, which dedicates a portion of sales tax revenue for capital improvements to local human services nonprofits.

George Hartman, pharmacy services director at Salud, said the clinic has wanted a drive-thru for a while but couldn't have built it without the funding.

"It's all new for us, it's exciting, and it's going to be a big plus for helping us provide care to the people who need it," Hartman said.

During the pandemic, the pharmacy offered curbside delivery for prescriptions, which pharmacy manager Matthew Hall said was challenging.

"It was like trying to run a Sonic without the microphones and communications system," Hall said. "It was kind of a nightmare."

Hartman added that, should a similar event happen in the future, the clinic is better equipped for contactless service thanks to the drive-thru.

Both Hartman and Hall said the drive-thru has been running smoothly in its first few weeks. The busiest day so far saw around 25 cars pass through.

"We've already had a couple of patients who are just absolutely thankful," Hall said of the customer response to the drive-thru so far. "There's one guy who is very mobility challenged and has an adaptive vehicle, and he's able to come to the drive-thru to get his meds."

The drive-thru isn't the only new addition to the clinic. The funding also covered an expansion of the pharmacy itself, doubling its size and giving the eight to 10 pharmacy staff who use the space on a daily basis more room to do their jobs.

"We could definitely use the extra space and we're thankful for it," Hartman said. "We fill about 1,500 prescriptions every week, so it's a fairly high-volume store."

Also added was an after-hours locker system, which will give customers the freedom to pick up their prescriptions at a time that works with their schedule. Clinic staff are putting the finishing touches on the system and hope to have the lockers ready for use sometime next month.

The Longmont clinic at 220 E. Rogers Road is the first to add either a drive-thru or after-hours locker system to its pharmacy. The other Salud clinics with pharmacies are in Brighton, Commerce City, Fort Collins and Fort Lupton.

"This is kind of a pilot program for us," Hartman said. "This gives us the opportunity to maybe head other pharmacies in a similar direction."

Hall explained that Salud's mission is to offer low-cost medication to patients who might not be able to access it otherwise. With the drive-thru and other additions to the Longmont pharmacy, he believes the clinic is pushing that mission forward.

"I know it's going to be good for the community," Hall said. "It's bigger than me, and that's how I know it's going to work out."