A new family-owned pharmacy that stocks natural remedies alongside over-the-counter pharmaceutical products has opened in Kanawha City.
Valley Wellness Pharmacy, located at 3715 MacCorkle Ave. S.E., opened earlier this month, and will hold its grand opening on June 24. Dipti Patel, the pharmacist who owns Valley Wellness, said it has always been her goal to open her own pharmacy, and with support from her husband, South Charleston family physician Dr. Rohit Patel, she hopes Valley Wellness will be a fixture in Kanawha City.
"It's a good location - I wanted to provide a special service, and this is a good spot with a lot of different people who come through," she said.
The new pharmacy will feature homeopathic remedies and ayurvedic medicine alongside more traditional over-the-counter medicine, something Patel said sets Valley Wellness apart from other area pharmacies.
"Everything's going organic, and in the medicine world, people are also moving toward things like homeopathic and ayurvedic remedies, as well as natural essential oils," she said. "People are trying to find a different way to find a solution for their problems, and sometimes a drug is not the only one."
Ayurveda is a kind of alternative medicine that originated in India and today focuses on things like improving metabolism, exercise and meditation, as well as many natural remedies rooted in herbs and essential oils. Like other types of alternative medicine, its effectiveness in treating illness is debated, but Patel said it was important for her to provide her customers other options, and that ayurveda's focus on full-body wellness aligns closely with her own perspective on health.
"Like with allergies, there are a lot of essential oils you can use, aromatherapy...if it's allergies around the clock, there is medication you can take that helps through the season. If I'm allergic to pollen and start taking it one month before, it helps me fight through when pollen hits," she said.
Patel has lived in the area for years, and previously worked as a pharmacist at Bee Well Pharmacy in South Charleston. Valley Wellness will also offer drug compounding, and joins only a handful of other pharmacies in the area that still offer the service. Compounding will allow the pharmacy to better cater to customers who need tailored prescriptions, Patel said, and is another way for Valley Wellness to stand apart from larger chain pharmacies.
"It's old fashioned, but sometimes you need compounding, because the formulation is not on the market or they require something more specific," Patel said.
The pharmacy's grand opening will include free snacks and drinks and a prize drawing, as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the business at noon on June 24.
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia.nuzum@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow
@lydianuzum on Twitter.