It is more than a pharmacy — it’s “a place where we want to ensure overall healthcare for this community,” said Rural Health Group CEO Yvonne Long-Gee at an open house and ribbon-cutting Monday.

“It’s not just passing out medications, but also just looking at comprehensive care and ensuring that people get the opportunity for great healthcare,” she said.

RHG at Enfield Pharmacy is a place where patients can get prescriptions, and with an adjoining medical office, they can also come for checkups, diagnosis, and tests.

With many surprised by the many locations RHG has across the area, Long-Gee said she often tells them, “We’re a well-kept secret and we don’t want to be a well-kept secret. We do want you to know who we are.”

In his invocation for the event, Chester Williams, also an RHG board member and patient, said, “We gather here with grateful hearts to celebrate the grand opening of this community health center. We thank you for the vision, dedication, and hard work that brought us to this moment and for the opportunity to expand vital healthcare services to those who need it the most in our community.”

In his opening prayer, Williams said, “We pray for this pharmacy to be a beacon of hope and healing, increasing access to affordable medications and removing barriers such as transportation and high prescription costs that often burden our communities.”

Director of Pharmacy Dawn Rush told the audience, “It is our mission to offer the highest quality healthcare in all of northeastern North Carolina and in a culturally sensitive and respectful manner and with a special emphasis on reaching the underserved. Part of the pharmacy’s mission is addressing those barriers to the underserved.”

Not having a pharmacy, she said, can be detrimental to healthcare. “When I was brought here 19 years ago, I was told you need to go to Hollister. You need to open up a pharmacy. It was shocking because I didn’t have that experience.”

Since then, RHG “has said we need to make sure our patients have their medications. We had all these wonderful clinics, you’d write a prescription and you can’t get your medication. We started Hollister, then went to Norlina, we went to Stovall, and so now we’re here in Enfield. It’s a beautiful building and we’ve been very welcomed by the community.”

Rush said RHG couldn’t have done the openings without the 340B program, which requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell certain outpatient drugs at a discount to eligible health care providers.

Kesha Rooks, RHG chief deputy director, said, “Today is not just about opening the doors to a new pharmacy. It’s about opening the doors to better health, greater access, and a stronger community. Our vision for the Rural Health Group at Enfield Pharmacy is to simply serve the community with compassion, professionalism and excellence.”

She said the pharmacy should become more than a place to pick up medications. “It should be a trusted health partner, a source of education, a place where every individual feels valued and cared for. We want you to know that this pharmacy was built with you, our friends, and our families in mind — from providing personalized medication counseling and wellness services to supporting public health initiatives, we are committed to improving the lives of the patients in this community, one person at a time.”

Crystal Shank, president and CEO of the North Carolina Community Health Center Association, said, “Today is a day to celebrate, a day to recognize the vision, the dedication, and the impact of Rural Health Group.”

She praised Long-Gee for her leadership. “Your leadership has brought us to this moment and we thank you for your steadfast dedication to this community. The opening of the Rural Health Group Pharmacy is more than just a ribbon-cutting. It’s a celebration of what Rural Health Group has always stood for — innovation, excellence, and a deep commitment to the people of eastern North Carolina. This pharmacy is a continuation of a decades-long mission of integrating care, bringing services closer to the community, and ensuring every patient has access to the medication and care they need as part of a complete, connected healthcare experience.”

Said Shank: “This is a moment to recognize that Rural Health Group is not serving a community — it’s leading it. The pharmacy reflects a broader vision of connected care and demonstrates how smart leadership, thoughtful planning, and a commitment to mission can translate into real impact every single day.”

Programs like 340B support the mission, she said, “and allow Rural Health Group and the other 41 community health centers across North Carolina to reinvest in care, innovation, and community programs.”

Shank said, however, “Today is more than the program or policies. It’s about what a community pharmacy means in a rural area.”

Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chairman Vernon Bryant read a letter from the board congratulating RHG on the opening of the pharmacy. “The launch of this facility marks an important milestone, not only for Rural Health Group, but also for the entire community you serve. Access to affordable, high quality pharmacy services is a vital component of a strong public health infrastructure … Your commitment to improving healthcare access for our residents is deeply appreciated and highly commendable.”

John Tayloe, of Senator Ted Budd’s office, said, “It’s just a bright, shining spot as we stand here embarking on a new level of service in this community.”

Trey Lewis, of Senator Thom Tillis’s office, said, “The fact that there’s a ribbon-cutting here shows there’s a new chapter for your organization for the town of Enfield and for the county of Halifax.”

State Representative Rodney Pierce told the audience, “You can just tell by all of the people who are gathered here … how important this facility is — not just to the county but to the region. I’m pretty sure you’re going to have people from outside of Halifax who come here.”

Pharmacy Manager Jade Hilliard, a Roanoke Rapids native, said, “When our organization saw a need for the pharmacy to be in Enfield, I jumped at the opportunity to come back to the county that I’m from and give back to the community.”