Wael Hanna and Niki Singh, two long time Langwarrin pharmacists, opened their new WholeLife Pharmacy & Healthfoods store on Cranbourne-Frankston Road, Langwarrinin February this year. The first store of its type in Victoria, WholeLife provides all the services of a traditional pharmacy combined with over 12,000 health, wellbeing and lifestyle products.
Niki and Wael knew their new store was going to be an exciting venture but like everyone, they didn’t quite expect the year that they have had so far. The community response to their new offering has been overwhelming, Wael said, “We believed that Langwarrin was the perfect location for our WholeLife Pharmacy & Healthfoods concept because we know that people are looking for products that not only treat illnesses, but provide them with products that help lead healthy and balanced lifestyles. Our store is like a one-stop shop with everything you need from a traditional pharmacy plus our full range of health foods is incredible – everything from nuts to ingredients to breads, fridge and freezer products, vitamins to eco-friendly cleaning, plant-based, gluten-free, keto – you name it, we have it. Throughout the current COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen that as people want to limit the number of different stores that they visit, they call at our WholeLife store and can collect not only their pharmacy needs but also their health foods, cooking items, household essentials and even their dinner.”
To help support the vulnerable members of their community, Wael and Niki made the decision to ramp up their delivery services to ensure that essential pharmacy supplies and health food products were accessible to their patients. The pharmacy now offers free same day delivery on all scripts and free delivery on orders over $30 on over the counter purchases.
The coronavirus crisis has triggered WholeLife Pharmacy & Healthfoods to turn uncertainty into new opportunities and explore new directions. For those who are still able to get out and about, the pharmacy have implemented a contactless pick up service from their carpark so that shoppers don’t have to get out of their cars if they don’t wish too.
In addition, Wael explained, “The pharmacy is now able to dispense e-scripts meaning that when a patient visits or has a telehealth appointment with their GP, they can now request to receive their script electronically. The script will be provided to the patient by SMS or email. The patient can then present this notification to their pharmacy or load the script electronically into our Medmate app to send it to our pharmacy digitally. You can also browse front-of-shop pharmacy and healthfood categories and pay for your purchase all through the Medmate app. So basically, with a Telehealth consultation and our free script delivery service, you don’t have to leave home to get your medication.”
Over the past six months, Niki has been impressed with how the Langwarrin community has pulled together and supported each other during these challenging times. Niki said, “People are being sensitive to the needs of others. Everyone has everyone’s safety and wellbeing in mind. Even under the current circumstances, there’s a stronger sense of community. We’ve also seen it in our staff too, with members of the team offering to deliver orders on their way home if an order has missed cut off. It’s been heart-warming to see everyone step up to extend their support to the community”.
Wael said, “Our team at Langwarrin WholeLife Pharmacy & Healthfoods remains committed to looking after the health and well-being of our community. We do not take your support or loyalty for granted and it is a privilege that we are able to make a positive contribution to your lives”.
WholeLife Pharmacy & Healthfoods
2/117-119 Cranbourne-Frankston Rd,
Langwarrin, VIC, 3910 (cnr Long St)
Monday – Friday 8am – 7pm
Saturday – Sunday 9am – 5pm
As appeared in the Frankston Times on Tuesday the 25th of August.