Nearly every job in the District has been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Some people are working from their homes instead of going into an office; others have taken pay cuts or lost their jobs entirely. But there are plenty of people who are still doing their work in person, even as the world has changed dramatically. This series features the voices of the “still at workers,” telling us what their lives are like right now and what they wish other people knew about being an essential worker during a pandemic.
Anthony Ramdass is the owner and pharmacist at Ramdass Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy in Riggs Park near Fort Totten. Ramdass has worked as a pharmacist for more than 30 years in the D.C. area. In addition to his responsibilities at the store, he provides vaccinations and delivers medicine to seniors and the homebound.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How is life at your store different from normal now?
We have a front end and store serving the community, and we saw a decrease in sales with fewer people coming in. We have reduced our hours a little bit so we can protect our staff, but we’re open every day. We had to cut one staff member. We’re kind of working with a skeleton crew until this crisis is over. We have a delivery person, a pharmacist and a front end person.
We’ve seen tremendous loss of sales because people are not going to the doctor as often as they used to. In comparison to February or January, I would say we’re 40 percent down in terms of volume.
Now it’s mostly maintenance medications for diabetes or hypertension, but the things you might see for a surgery or other types of diseases, you’re not seeing it as much as you used to. We have been blessed to work with the Washington Hospital Center house call program, they’re the ones we collaborate with and they forward the prescriptions to us.
What kind of safety measures or PPE are you using to do your job? How are you staying safe?
As a pharmacist we’ve been trying to get PPE, all of our medical supplies coming from a major supplier called McKesson Pharmaceutical, they’re our major wholesaler. For the past month we’ve been trying to get masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and wipes. We have not been successful, every piece of inventory on our shelves related to COVID-19 has been wiped out and we can’t get it replaced. What we’re using at the pharmacy are one or two bottles of hand sanitizer that we reserve for deliveries and the staff. Every time we go to order more, there’s “0” on all the items that we’re trying to get.
Getting masks has been rather difficult. We’ve been very conservative but we’re still looking for sources where we can get some more, it’s been a challenge. My mother, she’s a high risk patient, sent me a pack. We’re moving now towards the cloth masks because we’re down now to two packs. We’ll be getting some of the cloth masks because those you can wash and re-wear, hopefully in about week’s time we’ll start using those.
When we deliver prescriptions we have masks and gloves. The patients will tell us to leave the medicine on the chair at the door or they will create a barrier, so that has been something we enforce with deliveries.
What have your interactions been like with customers/consumers/patrons?
One of the things I find that’s very encouraging is the customers and even patients thank you for being open for them. I find patients more interactive than they did in the past, it’s as if they’re expressing a deeper appreciation for your presence.
A mom came in with her child for a prescription and both of them had their masks on. She observed what was happening in the pharmacy and that I couldn’t attend to them right away. They were rather patient when I got the counter but their response was, “No. We thank you for being here, we appreciate you being here. Are you ok?” So I think that really showed me that people are appreciating what healthcare workers are doing. I thought that was rather touching.
What do you want people to know about your job?
Not only my job but all healthcare and essential personnel, what we’re going through in this crisis has added extra stress on us financially, emotionally, and physically. It’s demonstrated the true character of folks who have chosen this line of work. If you think about what we do on a daily basis, we accept it and we go home and repeat it knowing full well that this is something that is going to last for a long time, it demonstrates the character of healthcare individuals.
My job has been rather demanding and overwhelming, but I’m not frustrated by it, I’m just adjusting to the new norm.
Are there ways that people can make your life/job easier?
I think one thing that would be very helpful would be if we get more access to the PPE, the masks, the hand sanitizer. That’s a big part of the equation that causes anxiety.
How has your family been affected by your work?
I live by myself right now, so I have that luxury. I have two daughters, they’re on their own. They called me to check on me. Sometimes they will go to the store and buy things that they think I need. They would go and buy me fruits or snacks to have in the pharmacy, so they’ve been very supportive. Emotionally, I’m well covered.
My mom called me this morning. She was concerned if I had eaten, then she asked me if I’m wearing my mask. It’s really amazing that she would be thinking about me in that way.
I don’t think of it as being on the front lines: I think of it as what I chose, this is my job. It doesn’t depress me. It has never in any minute made me question, “Why am I open when everyone is home?” That’s what the joy of this profession is about, knowing this service is still valuable. That’s why I chose to be a pharmacist, in addition to my love of chemistry.
Previous Still at Workers:
A Sanitation Worker Says She Will Be There ‘Rain, Sleet, Or Snow’
A Janitor Hopes People Will ‘See The Sacrifice That We Custodians Are Making’
A Capitol Hill Nanny Is Still ‘Like A Third Parent’ For The Children She Cares For
A Security Guard At D.C. Police Headquarters Says ‘We’re Like Human Body Shields’
