54 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • OCTOBER 15, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Auburndale pharmacist wins national award
GallopNYC celebrates new ramp at Howard Beach barn
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
GallopNYC, a Queens-based horseback
riding and therapeutic horsemanship
nonprofi t, unveiled a new accessibility
ramp in Howard Beach last week.
Th e organization, which focuses on providing
lessons for all New Yorkers, particularly
riders with disabilities, veterans,
seniors, and at-risk youth, received
the funds for the fully ADA compliant
ramp’s design and installation thanks to
Th e Hartford’s Ability Equipped program.
“Th e new ramp is a signifi cant improvement
for both our riders and our horses,”
said James Wilson, executive director of
GallopNYC. “It allows riders to more easily
mount their horse for their life changing
lesson, and it’s less stressful for the
horse as well. Th is ramp is something we
could have never designed and built ourselves,
and we are incredibly grateful to
Th e Hartford’s Ability Equipped program
for funding it.”
Wilson said it took them more than
a year to get the new ramp, which isn’t
just better for most riders but even for
the horse.
“If you climb up steps and you grab
the saddle and pull, as oft en riders do, it
tweaks the horses back,” he said during
their Zoom unveiling of the ramp. “So
being able to go up that ramp and use it
and the big mounting platform to mount
the horse is a really, really great way for
the horse to feel calm, at ease and not
stressful.”
Wilson said the new ramp would not be
possible without the help of Th e Hartford
Ability Equipped program, which is
meant to empower youth and adults with
disabilities to achieve amazing things by
making adaptive equipment and sports
more accessible, as well as Move United,
a nonprofi t focused on promoting parasports
among youths and adults with physical
disabilities.
GallopNYC has barns located at
Howard Beach and Forest Hills, and has
been providing a variety of programs for
New Yorkers for 15 years.
Th ey provided lessons to more than 500
riders a week before COVID-19 forced
them to reduce their capacity. Wilson said
that like most small businesses, navigating
the pandemic had been diffi cult.
“We’re extremely lucky to have a strong
community of donors and friends that
has helped to support us during this diffi
cult time, and we’re fortunate that we
can continue to off er limited therapeutic
and recreational riding lessons,” Wilson
said. “We are focused on working with
only one client at a time to preserve social
distance, and have developed COVID-19
safety protocols with guidance from the
NYC and NY state, in an eff ort to allow
New Yorkers continued access to this life
changing therapeutic activity.”
Th ey are now back to providing lessons
at their Forest Hills facility.
During the unveiling of the new ramp,
one of their long time riders, L’Hava, demonstrated
how the incline will allow riders
to make their way to their horse, so they
can then mount the horse from a more
secure and solid platform.
Wilson also presented a new custom
saddle to another long time rider, David,
and his mom, Jocelyn. David thanked
GallopNYC and spoke about how riding
helps him “feel free,” stronger and more
confi dent.
For more information on GallopNYC’s
programs, visit their website at gallopnyc.
org.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
During the COVID-19 pandemic,
Sammy Yafai, a pharmacy manager at
CVS in Auburndale, was recognized for
prioritizing patients’ needs and putting in
extra hours to ensure they have the best
care possible — from tracking down physicians
who aren’t operating during regular
offi ce hours, to giving vaccinations, to
going the extra length to refi ll prescriptions
and more.
In honor of American Pharmacists
Month in October, Yafai was awarded
“COVID Cares Pharmacist” at the second
annual Best of the Best Pharmacy
Awards on Oct. 1 by SingleCare, the prescription
savings service that helps consumers
save millions of dollars on medications.
Yafai began working as a pharmacist at
CVS, located at 35-26 Francis Blvd., last
November and was promoted to a managerial
position in February.
“Th is is the ultimate recognition I can
get for being a pharmacist,” Yafai said.
“When you’re working six to seven days
a week nonstop while people were calling
out and becoming sick, and helping all of
these patients in need — especially during
COVID in March and April — where
most doctors either stopped working in
their offi ce or did everything at home,
it became impossible for patients to see
them or get prescriptions.”
Yafai went to work every day although
he knew there was a risk of contracting
the virus, he said. CVS had taken preventive
measures making sure their employees
were equipped with masks,
face shields and gloves.
“I had to continue working.
If I didn’t open the
pharmacy, how would all
of these patients get their
medication? I felt there
was a responsibility,” Yafai
said.Th
ere were certain challenges
Yafai encountered
such as having to live separately
from his family to
risk jeopardizing their
health and safety.
As more
employe
e s
w e r e
becoming sick and calling out of work,
Yafai and his other staff members at the
pharmacy had to work as hard as they
could to assist patients who were unable
to see their doctor.
“We had a patient come in who was on
blood pressure medication and diabetic
medication and she ran out of refi lls,”
Yafai said. “Th e doctor worked in
multiple locations, but the regular
clinic was closed. We searched
for other locations, and we ended
up receiving the prescriptions in
almost three hours.”
To show her appreciation, the
patient stops by the pharmacy
every week to give candy to
Yafai and his employees, he said.
“It was a very stressful time
period, but also a proud moment
for me because I had an
impact in the community,”
Yafai
said. Yafai was
inspired
by a
pharmacy
owner who showed him the importance
of talking to patients about the challenges
they encounter, whether fi nancial or
insurance-related.
Aft er dropping out of high school, Yafai
began working at a bodega where he met
a pharmacy owner. It wasn’t long before
Yafai left his job at the bodega, and started
working at a pharmacy as a cashier and
then became a pharmacy technician.
“Th at’s when I started seeing how pharmacists
impacted a community and it
sparked my interest in becoming a pharmacist,”
Yafai said.
To achieve this goal, Yafai went back
to school and got his GED and attended
Kingsborough Community College.
He later transferred to CUNY Brooklyn
College and graduated with a bachelor’s
degree, and then attended the University
of Buff alo earning a professional doctorate
in pharmacy.
As a pharmacist for the past fi ve years,
Yafai said he’s proud and happy to be able
to help people. He is also a CVS immunization
ambassador for the region, and is
pushing for pneumonia and fl u vaccinations
as the cold season is approaching.
“We play a major role in helping the
community, especially when it comes to
vaccinations,” Yafai said. “We don’t only
dispense medication, we counsel and
make sure people know how to take their
Courtesy of Sammy Yafai medications.”
Long time GallopNYC L’Hava at the unveiling of their new ramp in Howard Beach.
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