New downtown Walgreens offers up-front pharmacist

A new downtown Walgreens store is the first El Paso location where the pharmacist sits in front of the counter.
“Versus the other pharmacies were in the back and we don’t have so much of a direct contact with the patients,” said pharmacist Delora Pineda.

The store opened Friday morning at the corner of Oregon Street and Paisano Drive, replacing the old downtown location that has sat on the 200-block of North Mesa Street for more than 30 years.

“We want the general public to come in and feel confident with the advice they’re receiving from our pharmacists,” said manager Brian Rodriguez.

Rebecca De Leon had gastric bypass surgery 13 years ago, she said Friday after speaking with the pharmacist. Her digestive system works faster than normal, so doctors often prescribe dosages higher than what pharmacists are accustomed to seeing, which can complicate the prescription-filling process.

“When something doesn’t look right, they don’t give me the medicine,” she said. “They talk to the doctor first, and that’s a safety thing for me, for them, for everybody.”