Business Spotlight

Dedicated To Health, At Park Pharmacy Good Things Come In Small Packages

 

By Rochelle Karina
In an age of mega-marts, chain stores and big box emporiums, most people have become accustomed to taking their prescriptions there, and then cruising the aisles for nail polish and snow shovels while waiting for their medicine to be ready. It’s nameless and impersonal, but it’s what everyone is used to. You just hope they take your insurance.
At Park Pharmacy, owner Steve Wells takes a different approach. Customers won’t find a large selection of non-drug goodies stuffing the shelves, no large store front with the pharmacy in back. Park Pharmacy is a drug store, simple as that.
“We stick to the basics,” explains store manager Jo Green. “We do one thing and we do it well.”
Wells started the business back in 1987 in order to relate to his patients on a more personal level.
“When patients use a small, community pharmacy,” Green continued, “everyone knows their name. There’s a feeling of security when your pharmacist has a commitment to the community and is there year after year.”
No doubt about it, Park Pharmacy is part of the community. They donate items to Severna Park High School athletics and the band. “Almost anything they ask us to do,” laughed Green, who also mentioned they support Hospice. Community involvement is a way of life, ongoing throughout the year.
Wells and Green both feel that choosing a pharmacy is as important as choosing a doctor. Patients want to continue visits with their regular physician, and should choose a pharmacist with the same care, looking for someone who can not only fill their prescriptions, but who will go that extra mile to ensure their well being.
With insurance concerns on many people’s minds, large chain stores may not be the best choice. “Unlike corporations that work on the bottom-line theory,” explained Green, “we have a history with our patients and believe that’s our bottom line.”
That philosophy has led Park Pharmacy to accept as many insurance plans as possible. And they won’t turn a patient away because they’re “unprofitable.” As a community business, they service the community.
“We’re set apart by being independent, not guided by chain store rules and regulations,” explained Green, “We’ve got the same pharmacist, day in and day out. When you walk in, we know your name. It’s very rewarding to know that someone has remembered you. It’s a plus because this is medicine and people are concerned about their health – it helps address those concerns.”
For the folks at Park Pharmacy, community is what it’s all about.
“People constantly come in and run into people they know,” she shared. “The real bottom line,” finished Green, “is that communities need small businesses to succeed. It’s the backbone of our country; without them all you have is corporate America.”