Meet the MacIntyres: New pharmacy owners
Until recently, the community did not know the reasons for Jennifer and Brian MacIntyre’s mysterious December move into Creemore with their two children, Griffin, 6 and Logan, 3.
The MacIntyres were living in Durham where Jennifer worked as a pharmacist and Brian was a paramedic.
However, after years of thinking about operating her own business, Jennifer and Brian quietly arranged to buy the Creemore Village Pharmacy from Jean and John Smart, who ran the pharmacy for 35 years.
The change of hands wasn’t made public until the Smarts announced it in this paper last month.
“Probably the hardest thing was keeping the secret,” explained Jennifer, who respected the Smart’s request to keep the sale under wraps.
Although the MacIntyres put their Durham house up for sale in September, they remained mum about the reason. “Griffin told his old teacher at school that he was moving 47 minutes away, but he couldn’t tell her why!”
For the MacIntyres, the road to Creemore was bittersweet. Jennifer first found out about Creemore Village Pharmacy from a friend and fellow-pharmacist, who was interested in running a pharmacy with her.
Her friend told Jennifer about Creemore and they made a plan to visit the village together.
However, fate intervened tragically and two weeks later, the friend died of a rare disease.
“She gave me a gift,” said Jennifer, of Creemore and of the pharmacy she now owns with her husband. In the spring of 2012, Jennifer wrote a letter to the Smarts and delivered it to the pharmacy herself.
“We hit it off,” said Jennifer, discussing the Smarts. Jennifer started working a few shifts in the village so they could get to know one another better.
“It was a slow courtship,” explained Brian. “It was about them passing the torch to make sure it was the right thing.”
For Jennifer, stepping into the Smarts’ shoes at Creemore Village Pharmacy has been a dream come true.
“We like the small-town personal touch,” she said. “We are all neighbours helping neighbours.”
Under the new ownership, the pharmacy will increase the patient-focused services it provides.
Jennifer, who is trained in injections, plans to offer flu shots in the fall, with no appointment necessary. She also hopes to use her travel health credentials to consult with patients about vaccines and travelling with medications. She would also like to conduct more medication consultations, both in the pharmacy and at patients’ homes.
As a Certified Diabetes Educator, Jennifer can adjust insulin doses for patients who are experiencing blood sugar issues and provide dietary advice. In addition, her training in compression therapy allows her to fit patients for custom stockings.
Now that the secret is out and the MacIntyres have taken over the pharmacy, they are looking forward to making friends in Creemore. So far, they have had a good impression.
“This is the first place I have worked where people have come in to welcome me to town,” Jennifer said.
