Carmichael Village Pharmacy

By Bob Cox

No matter what age you are, I’m confident you’ll agree that there are infinitely more enjoyable ways to spend your time than standing in a long line at your pharmacy to drop off or pick up a prescription. There’s just something about standing in one spot for long periods of time that often brings out the worst in us. For people with health and mobility challenges, this unpleasant but simple task is anything but simple.

Fortunately, there is now a better way to get the medications you need while also avoiding all the crowds and chaos. Carmichael Village Pharmacy is a locally owned and operated business right here in Carmichael and they offer every customer the convenience of free delivery. That’s right; they do this for every customer at no extra charge.

Unlike all the big box chain stores, Carmichael Village Pharmacy is independently owned and operated. This local business is doing a number of unique and extraordinary things to make life a little easier, safer and more pleasant for their customers.

I spoke with Saira Rafiq, the owner of Carmichael Village Pharmacy to learn more about her fresh approach to doing business.

Q: Why did you decide to become a pharmacist?

A: I’ve always wanted to help people because I’m a sympathetic person. I’ve been that way ever since childhood and have always wanted to be a pharmacist.

Q: What experiences have helped you open your own pharmacy?

A: I worked at a chain store pharmacy for several years. I always thought I could help people out a little more by going out of my way and that’s why I opened my own pharmacy. I felt like I could really help our customers by offering free delivery.

Q: Tell us about your free delivery and is there a catch?

A: No, there’s no catch. As long as you are a customer of ours, we will deliver your medications for free.

Q: What motivated you to offer free delivery?

A: We have a lot of senior citizens here in Carmichael and many have a difficult time getting to their pharmacy to drop off and pick up their prescriptions. I wanted to help them by taking this burden off their shoulders.

Q: Do you have a system that helps your customers remember which medications to take and when to take them?

A: Yes, we offer a bubble pack, which is like a pillbox. We separate the medications for each time of day, including morning, noon, evening and bedtime. We separate each medication for a whole week in every bubble. Many of our customers receive four bubble packs at one time, which is nearly a month’s supply. We provide this service and the bubble packs for free to all of our customers because we want them to stay on top of their medications.

Q: Before you offered bubble packs, was it common for your customers to forget to take their medications as prescribed?

A: Yes, because a lot of our customers rely on several medications every day and not all medications are taken in the same quantities and intervals. A lot of our customers were having trouble remembering which medications to take and what time to take them. Many medications are vital and even life saving, so I didn’t want any of our customers to skip a single dose and run the risk of a serious health crisis.

Q: Have the bubble packs helped your customers stay organized?

A: Yes, and I’ve seen really good results. The readmission rates in the local hospitals have really decreased because fewer people have been unintentionally skipping doses and failing to take their medications. That’s why I came into this field, because I really wanted to help out the community.

Q: What types of insurance does Carmichael Village Pharmacy (CVP) accept?

A: We accept most insurance plans, including Medi-Cal, Blue Cross, Molina and Health Net. We also accept Tri Care and Medicare Part D Plans. Co-payments should be the same as compared to the big box chains.

Q: What other services does CVP offer?

A: Along with our free delivery and free bubble packaging, we offer compounding, vaccinations, veterinarian medications and medical supplies. We also accept expired prescription medications and have a special drop off box inside our store.

Q: What is compounding?

A: Compounding is a customized dose size. Some of the dosing sizes of medications a doctor prescribes are not available in standard commercial medications. When this occurs, the pharmacist must make it in the pharmacy.

Q: What do your customers love most about CVP?

A: They love the convenience, the free delivery and most importantly our service. We are not like many big box chain stores. I go out of my way to help them as much as I can.

Q: What else makes CVP special and unique?

A: We also offer Medicare Part D consultations for free. As many people know, October to December is enrollment time for the Medicare Part D Plans, which can be very confusing. We help our customers select the best plan that covers more of the costs of their medications, so they end up paying less out of pocket.

Q: If someone wants to switch from their current pharmacy to CVP, how do they do this?

A: They just have to give us a call and we will take care of everything for them. We just need a few minutes to obtain basic information about themselves, their pharmacy and which medications they are taking. We will call their old pharmacy and transfer their prescriptions here.

Q: What do you do to ensure the best service?

A: If the patient has any questions, they can call us. We are available to answer all their questions about any prescription. If there’s any inflexion between two prescriptions we will take care of that immediately. Also, if a patient is taking any duplication of medicine, such as the same class of medication, we take care of that as well to ensure that they’re not double dosing on any medication.

Q: As a locally owned business, why does it make sense for the community to support you?

A: Because I really want help out the community, which is why I came into this business. Our customers can call me and get answers to their questions immediately, which is something you don’t always get from the big box pharmacies.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Carmichael Village Pharmacy, call (916) 436-4731, stop by their facility at 6633 Coyle Ave., Suite 1 in Carmichael or visit their website at www.carmichaelvillagepharmacy.com.

Discovering the Jewel of Carmichael: Frith & Bradshaw Jewelers

By Bob Cox

Several years ago, I read a fascinating book written by Malcolm Gladwell that set me free from analysis paralysis, a condition that for years made me feel like a prisoner of indecisiveness. The book was titled Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and the contents of this book not only altered the course of my life for the better, it also inspired me to start Go For It Magazine over nine years ago.

Gladwell committed himself to studying some of the world’s most respected decision makers and discovered that they relied more on split-second gut level impressions and less on massive quantities of empirical data. He pointed out that in the most expensive war game ever conducted by the Pentagon, a marine officer who played the role of a rogue military commander outmaneuvered American forces, which were bogged down by overly complex decision making protocols.

From the second I walked into Frith & Bradshaw Jewelers in Carmichael, CA, I relied on those instincts, which have served me well. I was amazed by how completely at ease I felt, which is something that seldom happens in my line of work in outside sales. At Frith & Bradshaw as I was warmly greeting by store associate Scott Streepy, who then introduced me to the General Manager Jane Trux, who was equally gracious and friendly.

I spoke with Jane and their marketing representative Jamie Baker recently about how Frith & Bradshaw has managed to defy the odds, survive two devastating recessions and achieve extraordinary success for the past four decades.

Q: How did Frith & Bradshaw Jewelers get started?

Jane: Larry Frith and Rob Bradshaw started the business back in 1984. Larry worked as an apprentice for many years with another jewelry store and he believed he could improve some of their practices by starting his own business with the help of his business partner. Over the years, he has developed his skills to become a terrific master jeweler.

Q: What can people expect to find in your store?

Jane: Frith and Bradshaw Jewelers has a great selection new jewelry and estate jewelry ranging from the sublime to the truly unique, including platinum diamond pins with rich sapphires and emeralds to vintage wedding rings from the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s. We clean and polish every piece of jewelry and inspect its quality and durability to ensure that you can wear, love and enjoy your jewelry as much as we do. We carry more modern designs in our estate jewelry collection including many diamond halo bridal rings and wedding bands with Asscher Diamonds and cushion cut diamonds. Many of our customers comment on our vast selection of new and vintage jewelry that we have on hand.

Q: What are some of the things you do that make you special and unique that people might not know about you?

Jamie: We make custom jewelry for any occasion. If someone has an idea of a ring design they want to make from scratch, we can create something that will work for them that’s within a reasonable budget. Whether they’re using their Grandmother’s stone or a diamond from Frith & Bradshaw, we provide everything they need to create their dream design.

Q: What are some other things you do here that have helped you succeed for over 30 years?

Jane: We have a master jeweler here and most of our repairs are done on site. We are a full service jewelry store, so we do everything from simple watch repairs to custom designed jewelry and everything in between. Jamie: We also have a terrific selection of jewelry in the store that our customers can see and touch as opposed to just images on a website.

Q: Why is it so important to have a master jeweler in your store?

Jamie: With over 40 years of experience, our master jeweler has the skill and knowledge to create extraordinary and unique pieces of jewelry. Jane: He understands the intricacies of all metals and he’s like a surgeon in many ways.

Q: I’ve seen the pieces he’s created and they are absolutely breathtaking.

Jane: Yes, his level of skill is extraordinary.

Q: Do you have support people or methods to make custom jewelry?

Jane: Yes, we also have a computer aided design (CAD) service to assist us with extremely intricate and detailed work. Our quality control team oversees every project to ensure the highest quality.

Q: What are the advantages of buying from Frith & Bradshaw versus shopping online?

Jane: If you order jewelry online, there’s no way to touch and feel the product you’re buying. There’s security in knowing that we’ve been here for 33 years, standing behind every product we sell and repair.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Frith & Bradshaw Jewelers, stop by their store located at 3933 California Ave. in Carmichael, call (916) 944-1670 or visit their website at www.fbjewelers.com.

The Fountain

By Bob Cox

In the beginning, there was nothing but an unsightly landscape of rocks, weeds and four overgrown fruit trees. When we first moved into our tiny home over five years ago, the small backyard was a far cry from the tropical retreat I wanted to enjoy after a hard day of work. On the other hand, I looked forward to the challenge of transforming it into something my wife Diana and I could one day enjoy.

I foolishly thought that removing the rocks and replacing them with lush green grass would be the simplest and easiest task, so that’s where I began. As a long-time resident of Rancho Cordova, I should’ve known better because the soil near the American River is packed with rocks. With each plunge of the shovel, I encountered the rigid resistance of those unyielding adversaries. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months, but eventually our yard was transformed from a rock infested eyesore into a barren patch of dirt.

My next door neighbor was happy to take several tons of rocks off my dirt stained hands after I built a simple tool to separate the soil from the rocks. I used the finely sifted dirt and the largest stones to build a meandering rock wall planter that now lines all three fences. Diana and I planted several fruit trees and a variety of tropical plants in our new planter and finished off the project by laying new sod over the majority of the yard.

As beautiful as it was, I knew our yard wasn’t complete. The one thing I had dreamed about for years was having a beautiful rock lined waterfall cascading into a lovely pond in my backyard to create a tranquil environment. So I eagerly went back to work, armed with a shovel and a dream, unearthing a large assortment of stones, tree roots and the occasional clod of glorious dirt.

After the deep and expansive hole was dug, the job came to a sudden stop. For the next three years, the project stayed in limbo because I didn’t have the knowledge to safely run a source of electricity to the fountain. Each time I stepped out into our beautiful back yard, my attention was diverted to the empty hole that became a constant reminder of my inability to finish the task. Over time, I sunk into a hole where many dreams die, not the one in the earth but the one in my mind.

Lat summer, Diana and I finally agreed to hire a friend who was also a professional electrician and that was all the motivation I needed to fully recharge. Over the next four weekends, I built an attractive cascading rock walled fountain, which ended up with a leak that I tried and failed to fix for several months, causing me to fall back into the dreadful hole of self doubt.

I reached out to my friend who helped me with the electrical and he said he had a hard plastic waterfall form that would solve the leak, so I eagerly purchased it, tore out the old fountain and replaced it with an even more beautiful new fountain that now actually works! So now, every time I see or hear our fountain, it’s a reminder of what I accomplished because I refused to give up on myself.

If there’s something you really want to achieve in your life, no matter how grand it is, don’t be afraid to go for it. Whenever you encounter a formidable obstacle and you find yourself falling into a self pity pit, don’t stay stuck in the hole forever. Instead, get out as fast as you can by coming up with a new plan you can get excited about. Resolve to not be stressed out over how long it may take. Instead, savor the progress you make every step of the way while you give it your best effort. When you’re finished, you may actually amaze yourself!

Keeping Your Cool in the Heat of the Moment

By Dave Trux

Now that the scalding hot days of summer have returned, what would you do if the air conditioning system in your car is blowing more hot air than a career politician? If this happens to you, I would strongly advise you to refrain from jumping ahead to thoughts of despair, including plans to break open your nest egg prematurely in anticipation of a lengthy and expensive repair.

The good news is the solution is often fairly simple, easy and inexpensive. In my many years in the auto repair industry, I’ve discovered that oftentimes, the problem is something as simple as recharging the system and refilling it with Freon.

If a system recharge fails to bring you the soothing cool relief you need to make it to autumn, the next logical step is to check for a leak. Because the A.C. system is a sealed system, we often find that Freon has leaked out somewhere. I’ve found that just over half the cars we work on with an A.C. issue were caused by a leak. We check for leaks in our shop by charging the system with an ultraviolet dye and then asking our customer to drive their car for a week or two. When they return, we’ll put their car up on the rack and recheck it again by putting a black light on it, which will reveal exactly where the leak is.

Once your A.C. system is back in working order, you may want to enhance its performance by replacing your cabin air filter. Over a period of time, as you continue to draw in air from the outdoors and into the cabin, especially during extreme summer and winter months when the windows are rolled up tight, it’s common to find a lot of debris in the air box where the cabin air filter sits. It’s crucial for the health of your family and your vehicle to have the cabin air filter inspected during each service and replaced annually. With the windows rolled up for extended periods of time, you’re limited to breathing in confined air, so that stagnant air needs to be as clean as possible.

Of course there are other more complex and expensive problems that can go wrong with the A.C. system, including malfunctioning components like the compressor, the receiver/dryer and the evaporator core, but fortunately they are far less common. So, before you lose your cool figuratively and literally over what might be the worst case scenario, take your car to a trusted repair facility where you and your car can chill out together.