TTC_02_17_21_Vol.17-No.17

February 17, 2021
nerstone’ destination located
in Ipswich’s Shaw’s plaza. It has
changed its ‘game plan’ to meet
customer needs, despite the large
chain presence. In June of 2019,
the pharmacy model transitioned
to providing ‘custom compounding’
services, and the store’s prescription
business was transferred
to CVS. With a sense of loyalty,
some customers who prefer supporting
independent pharmacies
now go to Newburyport and
Rowley.
Alex Doyle, owner and pharmacist,
bought Conley’s from his
mother and father, Marlene and
Richard, after having owned the
Conley’s store in Gloucester. His
high energy is infectious, and he
is often found running to help
administer vaccine shots at area
clinics, plus testing residents for
COVID-19 exposure in the side
store parking lot. He has partnered
with Veritas Genetics Laboratory
to provide the nasal swab
PCR tests. They offer same-day
results if one is tested before noon,
which is remarkable customer service
to find, anywhere.
When asked about compounding,
Alex shared that ‘all licensed
pharmacists are taught how to
compound in school. It allows us
to provide a tailored dosage, recommended
by the physician (or
the vet, in the case of animals),
that fits a patient’s personal profile
vs. taking a standard dose.’ He
shared that because of the interest
in compounding, the FDA is looking
at requiring a certification, in
addition to the training received
in pharmacy school.’ Currently,
there are 7,500 compounding
pharmacies of 56,000 community-based
pharmacies nationwide.
(www.fda.gov)
Conley’s also offers quality holistic
and homeopathic products,
along with over-the-counter medications
and home care medical
equipment, in addition to a variety
of local cards and unique gifts.
They even offer community ‘take
a book, add a book’ shelves in the
foyer, and their holiday decorations
are unforgettable. Michael
Penniman, a staff member for
over 25 years, creates holiday electric
train displays. Maria Hebbel,
a veteran of 21 years, has also created
a 5-foot-tall whimsical holiday
castle, complete with spotted
mushrooms, green moss, and flying
fairies and elves, that is placed
in the storefront window for the
community to marvel at.
Speaking of Marvel, Alex has
creatively included a ‘luchador’
character (Mexican superhero)
on their Facebook page to help
promote the store’s products. The
brightly-colored, masked figure
adds a fresh energy to their marketing
efforts.
Like other independent pharmacy
owners, Alex is passionate
about their business. He’s known
to be in the store by 7:30 am to
help customers get tested for
COVID-19 before they go into
work, and he stays late many
nights, after the store closes at 6
pm. He is working relentlessly to,
as he says, ‘Find ways to get the
job done, and help as many people
as possible in these unprecedented
circumstances.’ He’s driven to JFK
Airport in a UHAUL to pick up
masks, and has worked with Representative
Brad Hill and Senator
Bruce Tarr, whom he says have
been, ‘very responsive, and terrific
to work with,’ when he’s not received
answers from the Department
of Health.
Hours: 9-6 pm Mon-Fri, 9-1
pm Sat. Phone: 978-356-2121
www.conleysdrugstore.com.
Rowley Pharmacy’s kind and
thoughtful pharmacist team of
Bill and Gene:
Rowley Pharmacy was ‘birthed’
in 1962, when Bill MacDonald’s
Aunt and Uncle, both registered
pharmacists, opened for prescription
business. Prior to their decision,
Bill shares, ‘my father used
the building as an old-time ‘soda
fountain’ drug store, minus medication
dispensing. The family then
learned of a community-member
who was thinking to put a pharmacy
in town. We had to make a
quick decision to also provide prescriptions,
which was agreed to do.’
‘I graduated from pharmacy
school in 1963, and, not long after,
joined the business, about 40
years ago,’ he continued. He also
works with his brother-in-law,
Gene Regnier. They are a kind,
thoughtful team. Gene also offers
experience of having worked for
16 years at Walgreens, before joining
Bill.
There is a staff of four in Rowley,
with two technicians, and,
as Bill says, ‘the personal touch
makes a big difference. We deliver
prescriptions most days to someone
in town, plus to the elderly,
and those in housing.’
The coronavirus changed their
procedure with realizing that it
was important to provide ‘contactless
pick up,’ along with offering
deliveries. They do not offer
COVID-19 testing at the store,
and are also not planning to administer
doses at the vaccine clinics.
Bill mentions that, ‘In a small
www.TheTownCommon.com Page 5
business, it doesn’t work well to
leave the store for a length of time
when prescriptions are coming
in, and must be filled. One of the
major challenges nowadays for the
pharmacy is that the medication
reimbursements have been ‘cut to
the bone,’ compared to years ago
when there were better rates.’
Gene mentioned, ‘it can also
create a separate challenge with
pharmacists being overwhelmed
by the large volume to fill in the
bigger chains, and then running
behind. There is little time for
that personal touch, as they have
to spend so much time verifying
prescriptions.’ He’s heard of many
pharmacists who, ‘burn out after
3 to 5 years, despite having been
enthusiastic about becoming a
pharmacist for a profession while
in school.’
Gene enjoys Rowley as he can
provide that level of, ‘friendliness
and customer service that can only
be found when really getting to
know customers.’ Bill added that,
‘If a customer orders a special
walker, we will put it together. It
comes in a box, and can be difficult
to assemble.’ This thoughtful
service, day in and day out, adds
up to a genuinely supportive experience
of visiting the pharmacy, or
receiving a delivered medication.
And, if there is something that
a customer needs that they don’t
have it onsite, Gene said, ’we will
call the wholesaler to have it delivered
the next day. It’s never been
a problem to obtain what the customer
needs.’
Bill added with a smile, ‘and
gone are the days when we used
a typewriter to create the prescription
labels, and kept handwritten
patient profiles. Everything is now
automated.’ Bill and Gene value
the daily opportunities to help
educate and build trustworthy relationships
with their customers,
while working to meet their medical
needs.
Hours: 9-6 pm Mon.-Fri., 9-2
pm Sat. Phone: (978) 948-2208
www.rowleypharmacy.com
In this time of small businesses
being hard-hit due to the pandemic’s
disruption, community
support for independent pharmacies
has never been more vital.
There are some experiences that
can’t be replicated in life, and the
quality service experiences found
in each pharmacy add to each
town’s unique character. Doing
what is possible to help, one visit
at a time, assists their success.
From published healthcare data,
with the aging of America, it is
projected that there is plenty of
business to go around. AARP’s
survey results of 1,880 adults over
65 showed that 80% of respondents
take at least two to four prescription
medications, and over
50% take four, or more. (www.
medicarerights.org; Prescription
Drug Use Among Older Adults,
Casey Schwarz, 28 April 2016)
Everyone can succeed, including
the big chains, and it makes sense
to level the field in a fair manner.
Otherwise, as Stephen Colbert
alluded to, small businesses, such
as family-run pharmacies, can end
up going away, which would be an
unrecoverable loss.
Rowley Pharmacy registered pharmacists Bill MacDonald at left and his brother-in-law Gene Regnier at right
Photos / Ben Wilson