Sawtooth Mountain Clinic Seeking Pharmacy Services Alternatives for Patients in Cook County
Work is well under way to identify affordable alternative
Pharmacy services with announcements expected soon.
Sawtooth Mountain Clinic (SMC) announced today that it has begun exploring alternatives for pharmacy services in Cook County responding to the announcement that the Grand Marais Pharmacy will be closing on August 31. It is expected that alternatives will be in place soon so patients in Cook County will have continued local access to their prescription needs.
“The leadership of Sawtooth Mountain Clinic (with full Board of Directors support) worked hard to find a viable way to purchase Grand Marais pharmacy. However, the Clinic must also honor its financial commitments to Covid-19 testing and treatment, the in-house pharmacy project, and providing high-quality primary care to the whole of Cook County and Grand Portage. We were unable to reach a mutually agreeable financial arrangement with Grand Marais Pharmacy,” said Kate Surbaugh, CEO of Sawtooth Mountain Clinic.
Sawtooth Mountain Clinic had announced early this year that it had made a commitment to launch its own on-site pharmacy staffed by licensed pharmacists. Construction of that facility is currently underway with plans to open early in 2021. SMC is eligible to participate in a federal purchasing program that supplies prescriptions to Community Health Centers across the nation at highly competitive rates. The SMC Pharmacy will also offer a sliding fee scale program and seamless integration with your SMC primary care provider.
“We are currently exploring ways to bridge the gap for pharmacy service during the period before we are able to open our doors,” said Surbaugh, “Those alternatives are designed to get our patients the prescriptions they need without having to leave Cook County. We expect to be able to pass that news onto the community very soon.”