PHI Pharmacy closes Navy Hill branch

File photo shows a PHI Pharmacy customer waiting for his medicine at the PHI Pharmacy counter. (Marc A. Venus)

PHI Pharmacy would be leaving the Commonwealth Health Center this weekend after serving as the hospital’s outpatient pharmacy for the last 23 years.

“Our pharmacy services will be temporarily consolidating [with] the location at the Joeten Dandan building,” said PHI Pharmacy general manager Joshua Wise in a statement to the Saipan Tribune.

The Commonwealth Health Care Corp., which runs the hospital, opted not to renew PHI Pharmacy’s contract to operate at CHC after opening its own outpatient pharmacy in 2018. PHI Pharmacy’s lease at CHC will expire on Monday, Oct. 14.

To fill the void left by the closing of its CHC location and better serve its customers, Wise said that PHI Pharmacy will open a branch in Kagman and will open the Dandan location seven days a week.

“The new pharmacy is projected to open around February 2020. PHI has been planning the Kagman pharmacy for about a year, and has been prepared to open, regardless of the status of our Navy Hill pharmacy,” he said.

There are also plans to open a new location in Garapan.

“We understand that many of our Navy Hill patients are unable to travel to Dandan or Kagman, so management is in the planning stages of a Garapan location,” Wise said.

Aside from plans to open new locations in Kagman and Garapan, Wise said PHI Pharmacy has new and exciting programs rolling out in the coming months focused on creating better access to select health care services.

This is on top of its highly successful Free Vitamin Program that is available for all children 2-12 years of age.

PHI Pharmacy continues to be the only pharmacy contracted with the Kagman Community Health Center and will be able to provide low cost medicines to indigent patients through the 340B program, which is a budget-neutral drug-pricing program that allows certain hospitals and clinics to purchase discounted medicines from drug manufacturers.

He also assured that regardless of the closure of their Navy Hill location, PHI Pharmacy would continue to provide pharmacy services to Medicaid patients.

“PHI continues to serve the people of the CNMI the best we can, and strives to improve the quality of health care. My personal goal has been to improve health care by creating a bridge between our health care providers because I believe the more we all work together, the more effectively we can serve our people,” said Wise.

Patients and customers can contact PHI Pharmacy at 235-6170 or 235-6174. They can also continue to contact the pharmacy through 323-5000 and 323-5001. These lines will also be utilized at the Dandan location.