Bowl of Hygeia Award
Aaron Sha
Associate Owner
Shoppers Drug Mart #2256
Prince Rupert
“You’re the new pharmacist at Shoppers!”
Aaron Sha didn’t recognize the voice. It was the fall of 2022, towards the end of a shift spent as a relief pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart’s Prince Rupert location. Sha had initially accepted the opportunity out of a desire to explore B.C.’s north coast, drawn by memories of his earlier years practicing pharmacy, and reminders of how friendly people are in smaller Canadian cities and towns.
He arrived a week ago by plane. Prince Rupert Airport is located on an island just west of the city, itself a port on the mouth of the Skeena River, once known as the Halibut Capital of the world. Flights in-and-out of the area’s foggy, rainswept coastline are at best, unpredictable. It took the airline two tries over two days just to land.
Sha was with his wife Jessica, also a pharmacist, and during the week the pair met the pharmacy team, the existing associate owner of the store, hiked local trails, and rented a car to explore the nearby communities.
“Towards the end of our week in Prince Rupert, the associate owner took my wife and I out for dinner, and the waitress recognized us as the new pharmacists. I had just been here a week and people already know. Even though Prince Rupert has 10,000 people, when there’s someone new here — and when you provide a good service — they remember. I really got a sense that this was a close-knit community,” Sha said.
“I’ve worked in community pharmacy for years in the Lower Mainland, but I never really felt the community like this. This was different.”
Aaron Sha (left) and his pharmacy team at Shoppers Drug Mart #2256 in Prince Rupert.
As it turned out, the existing associate owner was planning to move away to the Lower Mainland and was looking for someone to take over the Prince Rupert location. It was an opportunity, and it didn’t take long for Sha to decide.
“The pharmacy team, the community, they all really gave me a good feeling about this town. I called back a week later, and my wife and I officially moved here in January of 2023, and we’ve been here ever since,” he said.
For the past two years, Sha has been a staple in Prince Rupert. Doctors and other health care providers in town are all just a cellphone call away. About half of his patients are members of the Lax Kw’alaams, Kitkatla and Hartley Bay First Nations communities, and he learned about their histories, the impact of colonialism on the people, and the generational trauma that many Indigenous patients continue to experience.
“We pharmacists wear a lab coat and we look like we’re from an institution. We speak a certain way, and this can prevent us from helping as much as we’d like to. I am learning how to communicate in a manner that’s respectful and I’m still learning — it’s a lifelong journey,” Sha said. “As outsiders, we use this term ‘Indigenous’, but there are many different cultures, different bands, different remote villages, and they all have very unique needs that need to be met.”
As time passed, Sha’s connections to the community grew stronger. Other health providers in the community regularly seek his expertise in delivering culturally safe care. He provides training on medication administration for the local Children Matter Community Services. His pharmacy partnered with the local secondary school, Charles Hayes, and any students interested in a career in health care are always welcome to join his pharmacy for their work experience program.
The latest student even applied for a permanent position in Sha’s staff, and he’s hopeful the young local will go on and pursue a pharmacy degree.
“The first time I really felt that we were now a part of the community was when a woman came into our pharmacy. She wasn’t a regular patient, and she introduced herself as a teacher from the elementary school. She asked if my wife and I would like a tour of Prince Rupert,” Sha recalled. “So she picked us up after work and drove us everywhere in town, it felt like we were on a professional tour. She told us where a hidden restaurant was, where to find the best coffee, introduced us to all the local shops; that was probably about three months after we moved here.”
It hasn’t been easy work, however. Like many rural and remote communities in British Columbia, Prince Rupert has a shortage in health-care workers. Many doctors who lived and worked in the community just a few years ago have moved away, and often, Sha and his team would step in to become part of these patients’ new primary care team — something only recently possible with the pharmacists’ expanded scope in adaptations and minor ailments.
Like many rural and remote communities in British Columbia, Prince Rupert has a shortage in health-care workers. Many doctors who lived and worked in the community just a few years ago have moved away, and often, Aaron Sha and his team would step in to become part of these patients’ new primary care team.
To keep the pharmacy open, Sha and his wife work opposite shifts.
“I often work 14-hour days, seven days a week, and it’s sometimes challenging. But it’s a very good feeling when you know the community needs you, and the community wants you here. I just wanted to return the favour,” he said.
An example of that need surfaced in November 2024 during the nationwide Canada Post strike, when the national mail carrier halted service for a month. Suddenly, Hartley Bay — one of three First Nations communities Sha serves — was cut off from the thrice-weekly Canada Post flights that supplied them.
The only way to access Hartley Bay is by flight or by sea. Concerned about the community’s access to medications, Sha began working on the challenge alongside Hartley Bay’s health director to find alternative transportation. The team partnered with a local authority figure in Hartley Bay and decided to privately charter their own flights.
“That was a really unique opportunity for a pharmacy to reach out and for us to step up. I think as pharmacists, we really care, and we wanted to step up and do this,” Sha said.
His work has made heads turn in the community, and Sha was nominated in the “Professional Excellence” category of the 2024 Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards, the first time the event re-opened after the pandemic.
And when word got out that Sha was to receive the 2025 Bowl of Hygeia Award for Pharmacy Excellence, the community did not hesitate to show their love.
“Metlakatla Chief Clarence Nelson, he woke up at 5 in the morning to prepare a traditional smoked fish. He delivered it to our pharmacy even though he had to take his wife to the hospital. I was overwhelmed by his support,” Sha said.
“We had met because he came in one time for a comprehensive medication review. And I think he was a bit surprised by what pharmacists can now do.”