September 1, 2022
How many years has your pharmacy been in business?
Gateway Pharmacy has been in business since the 1950s. It changed owners twice before the Szilagyi and Katra families bought it in 1982.
What has been the most significant change within your pharmacy over the past five years, and how has it helped you better serve your patients?
We have had two significant changes within our pharmacy over the past five years. The first relates to our efforts to combat the drive to send patients from their local independent pharmacy to a chain pharmacy. Our efforts have helped us better serve patients by enabling us to provide unique services to keep our customers coming back, including exceptional customer service and empathy for our customers. Second, COVID-19 really changed what we dispense and how we interact with our customers. We had to change how we did many things, such as increasing deliveries and creating curbside pickup protocols, and our focus took a strong turn to vaccinations and other ways to keep patients healthy during COVID-19.
What is your favorite thing about being a pharmacist?
My favorite thing about being a pharmacist is the feeling I get when we help someone. It is a good feeling to know you have truly helped someone with their health. It can be scary or frustrating to navigate the healthcare system today, so to see a patient leave feeling comforted makes us feel that our job is important and necessary.
What makes your pharmacy unique?
The true family feel of our pharmacy makes it unique. We have many employees who have worked at Gateway for their entire careers. We have many families that have worked at Gateway (siblings, mother/daughters, etc.). Everyone truly knows everyone in Phoenixville, and it has a small-town feel. Our employees know everyone who comes in the door — and if they don’t, they will remember them the next time they come in. We try to provide one-of-a-kind customer service to keep our customers coming back to us. We know they can be forced to go elsewhere, but we want them to choose to come to us.
What do you think your patients love most about your pharmacy?
Our patients love that they can talk to real people who go above and beyond to help them!
What are your favorite ways to get involved with your community?
We love to promote community events and help with sponsorships of local community groups. These groups keep our community active and involved, and it’s important for us to show support!
What excites you most about the future of independent pharmacy?
The pandemic propelled the pharmacist’s ability to provide direct patient care — to make clinical decisions and treat patients. It showed that pharmacies can treat large numbers of people safely and effectively without having to involve going to their doctors.
What does Locally Loved mean to you?
Being Locally Loved means being a pillar in a community where people can go and find compassion, education, kindness, and empathy — to be a place that the community can count on!
