YORKTON – A local pharmacist and pharmacy owner is the recipient of the Sask Indigenous Enterprise Foundation’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award.
Melody Kelts, the proud owner of Sage Pharmacy, received the award from SIEF Nov. 9 at Dakota Dunes Resort and Casino in Whitecap, for the organization's annual general meeting.
Born in Alberta and raised in Yorkton since she was just a year old, Kelts has deep roots in the community. Her First Nation heritage traces back to Ontario, Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, where her father grew up and lived.
“It’s a very long journey just to become a pharmacist,” said Kelts in an interview with Yorkton This Week.
Kelts said her journey began at the University of Saskatchewan, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. Since 2011, she has been a practicing pharmacist, honing her skills and expanding her knowledge.
"Sage Pharmacy was a hope and dream of mine for many years and as a result of hard work, dedication, resilience and a small army of people believing in me it finally became reality," wrote Kelts in a recent social media post.
One of the unique services that Kelts provides at Sage Pharmacy is compounding. This process involves creating prescriptions from raw ingredients into the required dosage forms, including liquids, topicals, suppositories, capsules and even lollipops.
To find a similar level of compounding services as provided by Kelts, one would need to travel to Regina, the nearest centre offering the same services. However, Kelts emphasized that her pharmacy is not limited to compounding.
“A lot of people that come here think that I can only make a compound,” said Kelts, clarifying that she can fill any medication or prescription at her shop.
"Sage Pharmacy opened its doors in 2022 just in time to fill a local gap during the Canada-wide shortage of liquid acetaminophen, ibuprofen and amoxicillin. It was the only pharmacy in the Yorkton area with the knowledge, equipment, and infrastructure to compound the medications," according to a media release from SIEF.
"It was also important to her that she create a space that offers health, wellness and pharmacy services in a culturally safe and respectful environment. Kelts welcomes people needing medication and advice for both western and alternative therapies. She meets them where they are at in life and their healthcare journey to provide them individualized care and attention, even helping them to access other services in the community to ensure their physical, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social needs are met," added the release.
“I wanted to give back to my community and provide a much needed service to prevent delays in treatment.”
