McCauley Retail Pharmacy achieve sector-first with JAM Card Train and Trainer programme

From left to right: Noelle Coyne, Store Manager, Ciaran Delaney, JAM Ambassador, David Reilly, Community Pharmacist, Maeve Monaghan, CEO NOW Group, and Tony McEntee, CEO McCauley Pharmacy

NOW Group welcomes and congratulates McCauley Retail Pharmacy as the first pharmacy group to affiliate with the JAM Card and complete the JAM Card Train and Trainer programme across each of its 35 stores in the Republic of Ireland.

The JAM Card was developed by NOW Group participants in 2012 and allows people to ask for a minute of patience, discreetly and easily, in any situation they need it, including in shops, restaurants, public transportation, and now McCauley Pharmacies. With over 75,000 JAM Card users and 1,800 organisation partners, NOW Group is the business partner of choice for neurodiversity and hidden disabilities. McCauley Pharmacy has always been committed to supporting diversity and disability, and with this added service can now better support everyone in the community.

McCauley Pharmacy is committed to JAM Card and have taken steps to ensure the success of the partnership, including fully training all their colleagues in how to offer the best support to JAM Card users, providing identifiable JAM Card pins to all colleagues and kitting out all pharmacy locations with JAM Card displays.

Speaking of the partnership, Tony McEntee, Chief Executive McCauley Pharmacy, said, “McCauley Pharmacy has always been committed to providing the best possible service to each and every customer. We are always looking for ways to improve our pharmacy experience and we are thrilled to have become the first pharmacy group in Ireland to carry out the detailed staff training that builds this incredible initiative into the heart of our business.

"Certain daily tasks, such as picking up something from a pharmacy, can be daunting to those with a communication barrier and never has this been more apparent than during the Covid pandemic. However, thanks to our JAM Card partnership customers can feel at ease and welcome in all of our McCauley locations. Our colleagues are looking forward to displaying the JAM Card logo with pride and welcoming JAM Card users with open arms.”

Speaking of the partnership, Maeve Monaghan, Chief Executive of NOW Group, said, “Our JAM Card training reinforces the need to be prepared for customers with different needs and to respond to them with respect and kindness in a way that removes barriers to delivering excellent customer service.

"We’re delighted to see this ethos reflected in McCauley Health & Beauty Pharmacy and to be able to welcome this pharmacy chain to the JAM Card family.”

McCauley is a leading Irish owned retail pharmacy group, operating 35 stores across Ireland including Wexford, Dublin, Cork, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Cavan, Meath, Tipperary, Kildare, Wicklow and Kerry.

In 2021 there are more than 75,000 JAM Card users benefiting from the JAM Card. It is available for free at the Google Play/Apple App Store, and users can also request a free plastic card at https://jamcard.org/jam-card#jam-card-form.

To learn more about the JAM Card initiative and how your business can support greater accessibility for people with hidden disabilities and communication barriers, visit https://jamcard.org/jam-for-business.