Independent Insights, a Health Mart Podcast

Episode 9: Pharmacy Powerhouses: Celebrating Innovation & Impact in Independent Pharmacies

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Join us for an inspiring episode of Independent Insights, where we celebrate the remarkable stories and achievements of the 2024 Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year Award finalists.  

Delve into the vibrant world of independent pharmacies as we explore the innovative strategies and community-driven efforts of these pharmacy powerhouses. Hear from finalists Avery Drier of Drier Pharmacy, Jennifer Metcalf of Hayden Pharmacy, and Brian Marr of Creswell Pharmacy, who share their secrets to success, from creative branding and engaging community events to savvy business practices and advocacy. Don't miss out on hearing firsthand accounts of resilience, dedication, and the collective push for industry progress. 

And remember to mark your calendars for the McKesson ideaShare event in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 10th to 13th, 2025, where you can connect with fellow pharmacists and explore new horizons in independent pharmacy.


Host
Suzanne Feeney, PharmD
VP, Pharmacy Retail Operations
McKesson, Health Mart

Guests
Vanessa Brown, PharmD
Senior Manager, Marketing
McKesson / Health Mart

Avery Drier
Student Pharmacist
Drier Pharmacy

Jennifer Metcalf
Pharmacist
Hayden Pharmacy

Brian Marr
Pharmacist
Creswell Pharmacy

Resources
Health Mart Pharmacies can learn more about the Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year Award here: https://mckessonideashare.com/health-mart-pharmacy-of-the-year/

Applications for the 2025 Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year Award will open on February 1st, 2025 and close on March 10th, 2025 at 11:59 PM CST. Submit your Health Mart Pharmacy Nomination here: https://surveyfeedback.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bCQvfF1tuqKs3no 


The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of Health Mart, McKesson or its affiliates or subsidiaries ("McKesson”). The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute the rendering of clinical, legal or other professional advice by McKesson.

Suzanne: [00:00:00] Welcome to Independent Insights, a Health Mart podcast focused on independent pharmacy. My name is Suzanne Feeney and I'm a pharmacist on the McKesson Health Mart team. In this episode, we'll delve into the stories and successes of independent pharmacies across the nation with a feature of the 2024 Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year finalists.

Are you looking for ideas to grow independent pharmacy and make a greater impact in your community? Look no further. Welcome to Independent Insights, the podcast brought to you by Health Mart. Episodes delve into a wide range of topics to provide you with the practical strategies, expert insights, and inspiring stories to help you and your pharmacy excel.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest and do not necessarily represent the views or positions of Health Mart, McKesson or its affiliates or subsidiaries, McKesson. The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute the rendering of [00:01:00] clinical, legal, or other professional advice by McKesson. You are responsible for reviewing and complying with all applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations that govern the operation of your business, including laws that apply to businesses generally, laws that apply to employers, and laws that specifically regulate the practice of pharmacy.

Suzanne: We had the absolute privilege of speaking with and showcasing our Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year finalists at Ideashare in New Orleans 2024. These truly exemplary pharmacies have demonstrated time and time again, outstanding dedication, innovation, and just a huge significant impact in their local communities.

Their stories are truly a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of independent pharmacies. Our 2024 winner was honored at the final night reception and we were so pleased to award Drier Pharmacy as our Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year for 2024.

McKesson IdeaShare is truly the nation's premier community pharmacy event, designed to empower current and future independent pharmacists.

Last year, in [00:02:00] addition to showcasing the Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year finalists, we also announced McKesson Amplify, an initiative aimed at protecting key pharmacy services and boosting the pharmacy profession by strengthening the industry's voice. With McKesson Amplify, McKesson awards dedicated funding to eligible state pharmacy associations to help them meet advocacy objectives.

So as we celebrate the achievements of our 2024 finalists, we also look forward to 2025 nominees and our McKesson IdeaShare event. This year, which will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 10th to the 13th. We hope you'll add McKesson IdeaShare to your calendar for this July. The event offers a unique opportunity to foster deeper connections, discover innovative strategies, and strengthen our collective voice in the industry. Each year, we honor a Health Mart pharmacy with this prestigious award. Applications for the 2025 finalists will open on February 1st. To learn more [00:03:00] about the application process, please reach out to your pharmacy sales consultant. As always, thank you so much for your time and for tuning in to this episode of Independent Insights.

Stay with us to hear from the outstanding finalists from last year and be inspired by their incredible contributions to community health. We hope to see you in our audience this year.

Vanessa: Hello and welcome to McKesson IdeaShare Radio at McKesson IdeaShare 2024 in New Orleans. My name is Vanessa Brown, and I'm not only a pharmacist with almost two decades of retail under my belt, but I'm also part of the marketing team that helps our Health Mart independent pharmacies. Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with our 2024 Pharmacy of the Year finalists.

We are going to get to hear some of their inspiring stories and maybe some secrets to success that they'll share with us. So, let's get started. Today with me I have Avery Drier with Drier [00:04:00] Pharmacy in Shawano, Wisconsin. I have Jennifer Metcalf with Hayden Pharmacy in Hayden, Alabama. And Brian Marr with Creswell Pharmacy in Creswell, Oregon.

Welcome and congratulations on your nomination. 

Avery: Thank you. 

Vanessa: How has IdeaShare been for you guys so far? 

Avery: So far it's been great. This is the first year we have the whole extended family here and it's been pretty exciting to have everyone here and seeing kind of what my dad and I usually do here. It's been great.

Jennifer: Yeah, it's been great so far. We're just so excited to be here. All my staff are just beyond excited also. 

Vanessa: Yes, I heard them giggling in the elevator yesterday. There's just a ton of excitement with them, so they're a lot of fun. They're fun. 

Brian, what about you? 

Brian: I always enjoy the festivities and , Meeting people I see once a year, you know, I've been coming, I don't know, 15 years or so and you see a lot of the same faces, you see some of the people that had won pharmacy a year before and stop and you talk to them and stuff about the experience and that's been actually, something that I didn't expect.

 [00:05:00] It's always good. 

Vanessa: Yes. Definitely excited to have everybody back here, especially in New Orleans. What a fun town, right? Opening session was great with the band.

Doc was awesome. And we got to hear from each of your families on stage. The videos were so heartfelt. Like, I got teary eyed. Like, I love being a pharmacist. I love hearing your stories. And, it's just, it's amazing that we all get to come here and share ideas. So Avery. First year of pharmacy school under your belt?

Avery: Yep. 

Vanessa: How do you feel about that? 

Avery: Pretty good. It was a good year. The good year? Glad to go back. Yeah. 

Vanessa: And I know your father's just so excited that you get to continue on the tradition in your pharmacy. So that was a really cool story to hear. I hear you guys do a lot of branding work. You've got like some polos and some sweatshirts and , we're getting kind of popular.

Avery: Yeah, we do do quite a bit of branding work. We're very big on making sure our brand is consistent. And everyone knows when they see us in our Health Mart polos, our crew [00:06:00] necks for the cold winters, that we're here to help and this is what we do. We had a patient who was just like, how do I get my hands on one of these?

I love that you guys wear these and I want to tell everyone all about you. So we, when we did our order, we ordered her one and we brought it to her and she actually shed a tear. She was crying because she was so touched by it. The community likes them, we like them. I ask my co workers, Hey, why do you like your Health Mart polos?

Why do you choose to wear it? And they're like, Well, it makes me feel like I'm part of a team. Or, , it gives me a , sense of pride. But also, it's easy. So I kind of want to put out there that we don't make our employees wear their polos. It's totally up to them. And most of them just choose to wear because they like how it looks, they're comfy, and they have a sense of pride in their work and feel like they're part of the team.

 We are pretty consistent in our brand. And we do stick with the blue and green of the Health Mart and, so everyone knows when they see us what we're about. And our brand as a [00:07:00] family and as a community pharmacy is we're very family oriented and community based.

So we really do push that and demonstrate that by attending community events and showing up as a family to those things. 

Vanessa: Wow, it sounds like your best marketing is, is your family and the confidence that your employees have within the store. 

Jennifer, did you want to say something? 

Jennifer: Yeah, I agree. I also have, I also make shirts for my employees to wear.

We have one man that does the screen printing and so I get the Health Mart printed on our shirts and on the back. And I get a different color each spring and then one in the fall. And of course they all like this the sweatshirts or the long sleeve because they say I keep them cold all the time So they like that but they love the branding too and our customers see that and they can recognize us anywhere and then we also give them out during um, We have like a Hayden day that we participate in and we give out our t shirts to our customers there and then last year we Had t shirts made with [00:08:00] our bird on the back sam because everybody loves sam our african gray parrot And they just went crazy over them, so like everybody in town was wanting to buy Sam shirts.

So it really does help, with getting our branding out into the community too, and a sense of pride with our employees to wear them every day. So I agree with that, it's a good idea. 

Vanessa: So you had Sam the Parrot, which I heard he just recently passed. Yes. We're so sorry about that. I see a picture of him, he looked cute as a button.

And you guys have A koi pond? 

Avery: We do have a koi pond. We've had three koi for about 17 years, so they've been around almost as long as I have, and um, everyone loves them. There will be families who will come in from out of town. Maybe they come up to Shano once a year for their getaway, and the first thing they want to do is feed the koi.

So they've gone from about this big to this big. Um, yeah, they are kind of what makes us a destination. People love to come in and see the koi, see that they're still here [00:09:00] year after year. 

Vanessa: So are they inside your gift shop 

Avery: area? Yes, they are. 

Vanessa: Okay. 

Avery: Wow. 

Vanessa: Well, if somebody was wanting to work on their front end, their gift shop area, and expand it, what are some tidbits you would give them?

Avery: Something we say in pharmacy school a lot is, uh, start low and go slow, and I think that's really applicable here, too. I wasn't around when my grandfather started our gift shop, but I was there for the transition of when my aunt said, Hey, let's get into some more boutique stuff and that she kind of slowly transitioned, she started a little bit here, she tried this, okay, that worked.

Let's go out. So maybe let's start with jewelry. Okay. That's going pretty well. Let's add a line of hats and mittens for winter. And that went well. And then now we have about seven, eight lines of boutique items that interchange every season and really bring people in. I think it really helped to kind of find your market, what they're looking for, find the price point that they're comfortable with, and leaning into what they may [00:10:00] like.

For example, we're a tourist destination. We grow about three times our size in the summer because we've got a couple lakes, a couple rivers, and cottages and cabins, so. What would tourists want? What would I want if I was going somewhere? So, the t shirts, the hats, the lake signs, river signs, things like that.

Um, I'd really recommend going out and doing your market research. What do, not only my tourists want, but also my locals. What are something our community is missing and really filling those gaps for them. 

Jennifer: That's awesome. I love looking at the pictures of your aunt and grandmother. Oh! Yeah, Facebook page modeling the clothes.

Thank you. Yeah, 

Avery: I have to give all the credit for that. They really do go out there and model for themselves. And that's also part of the branding showing off. Hey, it works for us. This is cute. And seeing promoting yourself that way through our Facebook. That's really great. 

Vanessa: Brian, you guys have a big front end with a lot of local artisans as well, don't you?[00:11:00] 

Brian: Yes, that's been neat. Inviting the community to come in and it's almost an everyday thing. It's just like, Oh, is this locally made? You know, and, um, they sell really well. We got some, we've gone through until we found the right mix. So we wouldn't exactly accept everybody, which it can be difficult. You got some local coming in, Hey, I want to sell my craft and maybe it's good.

We just don't think it fits or maybe it's not good and we don't want it, so it can be difficult finding the right mix. And, but that's been amazing. But, you know, shoot, keeping the front end, clean and organized and stocked is super important. , At our first store, I went through a time period where we were so busy we had neglected the front end.

And you can see sales that, , dipped because of that. But, we're back on top of it now at both stores. And, , that's been great. 

Vanessa: Yeah, clean front ends make them welcoming for everybody to come in finding local artists and people want to come in and support their community, having [00:12:00] things for the tourists that come in.

I want to come visit now. Can you guys rent me a cabin? I'll come visit in July when it's blazing hot in Texas. Okay. Um, Jennifer, you recently had RX Ownership come in. What was your experience with them? 

Jennifer: , it was really eye opening. They basically asked for my financials to give to them to kind of do a check up on what we look like.

And they asked me several questions. Well, have you asked your accountant about this? Have you asked them about that? Um, how many turns are you doing? And I was like, I have no idea. Well, you need to know these certain things. , and he gave me tips on different things to ask my accountant about if I was getting deductions for this or if I was.

Getting deductions for that. A lot of different things that are, I guess, will be unique to each pharmacy that they'll go through for you. And I talked with my accountant and he's like, yeah, these are some good ideas. We'll sit down and review everything for you. You know, with my two stores, the biggest thing was , how are [00:13:00] you splitting up both of your stores?

And I wasn't really splitting them up. We just kind of divide things between the two stores and I'm leaving it in my books just kind of like that And he said, you really need to split this up for the future. So if you want to sell them independently later You've got more of a record of what you're actually doing for each store that's just one example, but there's many things that they helped us with to help us focus more on our cash flow They suggested that I get inventory iq to come in You And, count all of our inventory, and to manage our inventory better, to get our inventory level down so we weren't carrying as high of an amount, that was the best suggestion that we got.

That worked great for us. Great. 

Vanessa: Did it help with your inventory turns and reducing it 

Jennifer: yeah, from 20 to 24, and we've been able to maintain the lower inventory. 

Brian: Even 20 is good. 

Jennifer: Yeah, that's impressive. Yes, [00:14:00] and uh, my techs have been working super hard to keep our inventory level down and watching it much more closely, and that's been the biggest help to us is them suggesting that.

Vanessa: So yeah, money on the shelf. 

Jennifer: Yes, yes, and uh, so I really, I'm glad that I talked to them, so it would really be of benefit to anybody to do that. 

Vanessa: That's awesome. So we saw your video. You have a state representative that comes into your store as a customer. Yeah. You get to talk to them on a regular basis.

Yeah. For those pharmacies out there that may not have a state rep that comes in as a customer, what advice would you give them to get involved? 

Jennifer: , it's very important to get involved, and find out who your state representative is. Um, some of us don't even know who they are. It's strange.

My two stores , are six miles apart, yet I have two different state representatives. It's split right down the middle. Fortunately, one of them is my [00:15:00] customer. And so, you just need to be diligent. Keep asking them to come by, come visit, and see what you deal with on a daily basis. Um, because until you get them in your store, they're not gonna understand.

You just have to be persistent and keep on at it and get other pharmacies in your area together with you. That's what I did when I talked to him about the Fair Men's Act here a while back. We have two other stores that are close to us, Cleveland Pharmacy and Locust Fork Pharmacy, and asked if they could meet us all together, and us all talk to Representative Standridge together, so he could understand.

He asked us a lot of questions, to be able to answer them and teach them, educate them on the issues, and how it affects the pharmacies. He says he hears, you know, 80 percent of the complaints come from his constituents, the people. And he said, rarely does he hear from the business owner and hear their side of it.

He just hears the people saying, [00:16:00] oh, hey, we don't want to do this or we want this, but they want to hear from us. So that's what I would suggest. Just be persistent about getting them to come talk to you and come to your store. 

Vanessa: Did you call them up on the phone? Did you write letters? Did you send email?

Jennifer: He's my friend on Facebook. So I sent him a message on Messenger and I said, hey, can you, can you drop by? And he's like, yeah, when, when, when you want me to come by. 

Vanessa: We're gonna start Facebooking friends and people. 

You're listening to Independent Insights, a McKesson Health Mart podcast with host Suzanne Feeney, VP Pharmacy Retail Operations for McKesson/Health Mart. And a previously recorded ideaShare Radio interview with host, Vanessa Brown, Senior Manager of Marketing for McKesson Health Mart and guests Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year Finalists: Avery Drier with Drier Pharmacy. Jennifer Metcalf with Hayden Pharmacy and Brian Marr with Creswell Pharmacy.

Let's continue.

Vanessa: Well, Brian, I hear you guys host [00:17:00] a lot of fun events. 

Brian: Yeah, not enough. Not enough?

Because it's really enjoyable. So, uh, my wife plans them and she always exceeds my expectations. She plans and gets all these materials and, and, uh, goodie bags to hand out and stuff. Oh my gosh, look at all these goodie bags. There's no way this many people are showing up. She always plans something fun and exciting.

So we had the No Drama Llama there. And people would literally be driving by and stop to go check out what's going on with the llama. Or she had another year, a bunch of, and I'm saying anniversary, because those are the biggest events that we do. But we do some smaller ones, too, that's always fun. She had some blow up dinosaurs.

You know, people in dinosaur costumes running around. And they did an amazing job, the people that were in those dinosaurs. That was a hot day. And, uh, they were just a sweaty [00:18:00] mess. But they had kids and one, no, two adults in those. And, uh, that was amazing. But yeah, she'll exceed expectations every time. I'm there and our staff pharmacist is there. I'll be doing the bench too so I ended up, being part of the festivities which staff is like, I'd rather do that.

Vanessa: Do you feel like these events, bring in new customers, or is it and it's also keeping your current customers happy. 

Brian: Yeah, definitely keeping the current ones happy but, like I said people stopping. Yeah. To see the llama or or really the model t it always draws attention Like we had it at the pharmacy anytime.

There's anything going on there. We bring it down because it draws a lot of attention Um, but we were going to go to lunch one time when we had it there and like oh Let's take the model t you know, and she's just like we've only got an hour You're gonna get stopped. Yeah, you're probably right. And so on the way out to our other car.

Hey, is that your car? They talked to me for like 10 minutes about it [00:19:00] And that car was purchased by my great grandfather and it's been in the family ever since. So, it was passed to me about two years ago. And my father couldn't keep it anymore. It's just an amazing story with that and it's fun. And I'm very mechanical and I work on it a lot.

And, uh, I just really enjoy that. But probably the biggest as far as marketing stuff goes, And of course, the type of thing that you wish you would have done earlier because it was so successful and you'd been thinking about it for a long time. Well, our city allows, they don't have much in the way of sign regulation, I know some places do.

Um, and so I finally got my big pharma sign. And so, I call it my big pharma sign. And it just says pharmacy big block letters because you get people that stop by and say oh I didn't know you were a pharmacy. It's like it says pharmacy on the smaller sign, but it says it right there But as soon as we got that big pharma sign on there people are checking, you know We we track [00:20:00] new customers and um that spiked after we put the big pharma sign out so If you could do that, I highly recommend it.

Vanessa: Yes, you have your big arch, and it has in big green letters, pharmacy. Yeah, you can't miss it. There's no mistaking what your business is. 

Brian: If somebody's moving to town, you're touring the town, even though it's a tiny town. I don't mean tiny, but it's small. Um, you're going to drive through the town. Okay, there's the gas station.

Oh, there's a couple places to eat. And there's the pharmacy, you know. And so, you're getting a lay of the land. And so, And there is a competition, so I want them to see me first and already kind of plan it in their head. 

Vanessa: Well, you guys have paved the roads to your own success with different twists and turns.

Um, if there's one piece of advice that you could give all the pharmacies listening right now, what would it be? Avery, we'll start with you. 

Avery: Oh, I keep thinking about what Brian said about hosting events, and I think that's really great. So, I'm just going to get that thought off my [00:21:00] head real quick and join your Chamber of Commerce and participate in those events.

For example, we just had a Sips, swirl and stroll event. We've got biannual ladies days, which is night out, which is actually huge. So your community wants to start something like that. The ladies love it. They all dress up like witches around Halloween and tour the town. And it's great. Um, but really getting out there in your community and, uh, advertising for yourself by being yourself and going out there, being there, joining committees and joining really anything you can, not only donating to those charitable Financially or with gift baskets where they'll read your name, but also by being there with your physical self and just doing the last you can and making that network, I guess would be my biggest piece of advice.

Vanessa: Love it. Jennifer. 

Jennifer: Um, I think, you know, is pharmacy is under so much stress right now it's very [00:22:00] challenging, a very challenging time right now, so I would stress. Getting in touch with your representative, like I said earlier, and just letting them see what actually goes on in your pharmacy and what you're dealing with on a daily basis.

And, and try to let them know that we need help to be able to survive all of this, because it's just a really tough time right now. And the more we can get the word out there, and the more help we can get, hopefully the sooner all of that help will come to us. 

Vanessa: Very valid. Brian, what about you? 

Brian: Um, for a lot of years, I told, I like having students come in.

 For rotations, and, , and they'd come in and they'd just get wide eyed I'm, I'm talking five years plus, ago. They'd get wide eyed and they'd say, We're told we can't do this. And, cause I, I would actually do a financial side with them too, and we'd look at the numbers , and one of their projects was to, on paper, , plan a pharmacy.

And what it's gonna [00:23:00] take to stay, profitable and, continue. And they would get wide eyed and say, I didn't think I could do this, so you're saying it's possible. These are real numbers. Yes, it's possible. Unfortunately, I can't say that anymore. I used to say that, um, people say, people say, oh, you're crazy if you open a pharmacy.

I'm like, no. If you have any kind of business sense, you're crazy not to. I miss those days. Because it is hard. And you have to be good at it. You know, you have to really want it. And it is a different, heading. than the chain retail pharmacy. There's no comparison. When I was, I worked for a chain for a while, as a regional manager, and I hated acquisitions because you bring in the pharmacy and that old pharmacy owner was always a pain because they wouldn't conform to our box.

And, and now I get it. Being on this side, I want to [00:24:00] do it the right way. And the box a lot of times won't let you do it the right way. So if you do have a passion, I still think it's possible. You just need to be really active in various aspects And you really need to be watching the bottom line and you got to work hard But the reward I think far outstrips anything else retail.

I can only speak to retail It's mostly what i've done and I enjoy retail. It's the people it's the people at the counter That's the best and the worst of the job Um But, it's mostly the best. Um, so, that, okay. And then, to sidetrack from that a little bit, I communicate with the other independents in our area on a regular basis.

I share information with them that some people, my wife included, is like, don't tell them that, you know, because it's a good idea. You know, I don't tell them everything, but if I, if I see something that I think other, others could benefit from, I tell them. You know, they're my competition, but I tell them.

But what happens is, [00:25:00] Information starts flowing back towards me. And she says, well, you give way more information than they, you know, it's, it's, it's like mostly a one way street to them. And I go, yeah, but I do get information. I get it from lots of little sources. So I actually, it, it does benefit me a lot by sharing what I know.

So, encouraging people to build that network. Even if it's your competition, you can still benefit from it. And network with people here. It's, I, always learning something. 

Vanessa: Great advice. It's marketing, getting involved in your community, showing the people what an amazing pharmacy that you are, because we're all individual.

We all have different aspects that we provide to our community, community, advocating on your, on your behalf, getting other people involved, getting other pharmacies involved, continuing to share ideas, getting pharmacy students involved, having financial acumen, all very valid points.

For everybody who wants to start a [00:26:00] pharmacy or make their pharmacy thrive. So thank you so much all of you for being here with me today sharing some tips I wish you luck in the voting and for everybody out there who has not voted yet. We have until 4 p. m today in the app Uh, so thank you so much again today for joining me stay informed stay engaged keep sharing your ideas This is mckesson idea share radio signing off until next time.

Keep up the great work

 Suzanne: As we close this episode we encourage all independent Health Mart pharmacies to apply for the Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year Award. This is a wonderful opportunity to gain recognition for your dedication and innovative contributions to community health. Applications for the 2025 finalists will open on February 1st. For more information about the application process and McKesson IdeaShare, please check the link in the show notes. Don't miss this chance to showcase your pharmacy's [00:27:00] achievements and inspire others.

Additionally, make sure to mark your calendars for McKesson Ideashare event, taking place July 10th through the 13th of this summer in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Independent Insights.

I'm Suzanne Feeney, Health Mart Pharmacist, signing off. Stay tuned, stay inspired, and keep making a difference in your communities.

Subscribe to Independent Insights wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes are released weekly. Together, let's make a lasting impact and shape the future of pharmacy.