When Watertown, New York, Pharmacist Meredith Sullivan made the call to close her pharmacy in preparation for an incoming snowstorm on Friday, Dec. 23, she wondered how the pharmacy’s closure before the long holiday weekend would affect the people she served.
Sullivan’s team had five medication deliveries scheduled the day a historic storm hit the Northern New York town, which often sees “lake effect snow”— heavy snow fall resulting from cold air moving over the Great Lakes’ warm water.
Knowing the pharmacy was closed again on Monday, Dec. 26, in observance of Christmas, Sullivan picked up the medications from her pharmacy before the snow started so she could personally deliver as many as possible. When road conditions worsened and she couldn’t get in contact with the consumers who needed her two final deliveries, the thought of them going without treatment until the pharmacy reopened began weighing on her.
“One of the prescriptions was a mood stabilizer and the other was an antipsychotic,” Sullivan said. “For these consumers, going two or three days without their medications could have ruined their Christmas.”
After the consumers returned her calls, she scheduled their deliveries during a break in snowfall the next day—on Christmas Eve. That morning, she hopped into her four-wheel drive truck and delivered both medications.
“I grew up in this community, so I’m familiar with driving in the snow,” Sullivan said. “It was just really important for me to get them their treatment.”
