Pharmacist Sarah Kozusko named CTV Regina's person of the year

It all started when Regina pharmacist Sarah Kozusko had someone come into her clinic who wasn’t wearing shoes. “I always have a second pair of shoes there [for commuting to work], and I gave away those shoes,” she remembers. That grew into asking friends and family for clothes and shoes to give out, and then into bringing in extra fruit, water and coffee to give away to people in need, and then into partnering with community organizations to help connect people to primary care and housing. “We’re trying to take away people’s desperation,” she says. The store has become a safe place to warm up, have a conversation, or use the phone in an emergency. Read: The Wordle craze: Why do we love puzzles, and are they good for our brains? For her unique, pharmacy-as-social service approach, CTV Regina has named Kozusko its 2021 citizen of the year. The award is overwhelming, she says. “When you do community work, you end up knowing a lot of people who are very deserving of recognition,” she says. She was nominated by a client, who described her as humble and kind. But a better word might be driven. Her store, Queen City Wellness Clinic, is located in the heritage neighbourhood of Regina, an area with a lot of unhoused people in it. At one point, there was a tent encampment across the street. Kozusko, who was trained in chronic disease management, says she does whatever is needed to help people. “We look at our entire patient,” she explains. “You’re not going to help anybody with their diabetes if they’re not wearing shoes.” They’ve helped people obtain housing, done COVID-19 shots in homeless shelters, paid taxi fare for people to be connected to doctors who prescribe Opioid agonist therapy, and served Christmas dinner to hundreds. Her team also regularly responds to requests from the community to help for people who are overdosing. “My staff probably goes out to 12 Narcan calls a month,” she says. To provide all this, they've partnered with community programs such as Carmichael Outreach and All Nations Hope, and with the university to get students in to help. “Getting to know our patients where they’re at has helped re-engage a lot of them in the health care system,” she explains. “After I get to know them, they’ll show me abscesses that they’ve got, and I might connect them with telemedicine to treat the wound [or help them get care]. Or sometimes they’ll be like, hey, I’m actually supposed to be on this prescription - I have re-engaged a lot of people with HIV care like that.” Her pharmacy has also created a unique program that offers pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for IV drug users. Read: Bladder Cancer Canada addresses resolution of BCG shortage for bladder cancer The need for help has been increased by policy changes that have led to more people losing their homes, she says, and by COVID-19 adding stresses and removing many safe spaces to congregate at. “Since the pandemic the need has increased astronomically,” she says. She thinks it’s time for pharmacists to think beyond dispensing drugs. “I want pharmacies to change from having a post office in them to having a social worker in them,” she says. “Because pharmacists are the most accessible health care professionals, so you can walk into a pharmacy anytime and talk to a healthcare professional, we need to be really leveraging that. We should be doing more things to meet people’s health needs."

Pharmacist Sarah Kozusko named CTV Regina's person of the year

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