Heidi Geib always knew she wanted to work in medicine. Well, sort of.
“I really love the medical world,” Geib says. “But I hate blood, needles, all that stuff.”
She’s been a pharmacist for the last 30 years and opened her pharmacy about two and a half years ago. Geib previously worked for other big box stores and independent pharmacies around Wooster, but she didn’t see her future at any of those companies. To her, they really didn’t care for their patients and were worried more about their bottom line. But Geib made great relationships with her patients along the way.
“When I left my last job, they kept calling me, wanting to know where I was going to go because they wanted to follow,” Geib said. “I didn't really have a plan. So I wasn't sure what I was going to do.”
So, Geib opened Heidi’s Pharmacy in Wooster, an independent pharmacy about an hour southwest of Cleveland. Here, Geib and her team focus on providing a quality experience for their patients. The pharmacy is in a rather ordinary building. It’s a little small, but inside is a lifeline for folks without access to their medications.
“We really try to take care of people,” Geib said. “You're not a number here. We know your story. Everybody here knows your story, so we can always take good care of you. We are always in touch with your doctors. We are packaging your medication.”
Pharmacy closings across the United States
Pharmacies, specifically big-box pharmacies, have been struggling to stay open lately. After filing for bankruptcy a year ago, Rite Aid announced it would close 800 stores, including 180 here in Ohio. Walgreens may close 25% of its 8,200 stores. CVS announced plans to close 900 stores two years ago.
With all the pharmacy departures, Geib says she and her team often have to pick up where these bigger box stores have left off. The pharmacists are doing vaccinations in nursing homes and schools. They’re also partnering with local free clinics to help meet the needs of their community. Even the delivery workers, who bring medications to those who can’t leave home, have started to cover towns without access to a local pharmacy.
“Everywhere that has lost Rite Aid is really feeling it,” Geib said. “People are just busy scrambling. Everybody is trying to figure out where to go and what to do.”
Retail analysts list a number of reasons why pharmacies nationwide are closing, including increasing competition, staffing shortages and upticks in retail crime.
Dr. Kimberlee Josephson is an associate professor of business at Lebanon Valley College and a research fellow with the Consumer Choice Center. She says consumer purchasing behavior has changed. Originally, pharmacies made most of their money through convenience store items, like chips, magazines and shampoo. Now, consumers are avoiding pharmacies in favor of cheaper alternatives.
“We see that the premium prices charged at convenience stores are not in line with where consumers are at right now,” Josephson said. “We're pretty price-sensitive, so these stores aren't getting as much foot traffic or interest from buyers.”
Public health concerns for marginalized communities
More pharmacy closures leads to the development of pharmacy deserts, where a region or a community has limited or no access to a nearby pharmacy. A study from Ohio State University says half of all U.S. counties have at least one pharmacy desert.
Public health experts say that the loss of pharmacies hurts marginalized communities. Black, Latino and low-income neighborhoods are often the first to lose access to their pharmacies. On top of losing access to their medical equipment and prescribed medications, these communities also have higher rates of asthma and mental health issues and have a higher risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure.
However, Josephson says another vulnerable population is at risk: the elderly. Studies show that older adults who have a closer relationship with their pharmacist tend to be stricter about adhering to their medication regimes.
“Especially for those who are older, having that convenience of their pharmacy being close by [is important],” Josephson said. “For me, sometimes it's hard for me to remember that I need to take my medication. So, for consumers, if they have to go that extra mile, they might forgo doing it altogether.”
That human connection is what makes Geib’s work so important. Heidi’s Pharmacy provides an essential service while building relationships with their patients. Geib says those relationships go much deeper than the medications, and even involve knowing about the families they help. She says her team even knows the names of their patients’ kids and pets.
“We are delivering meds, but we're also kind of checking in on some of our people who live by themselves,” Geib said. “They’re never never a number for sure, but we like it that way. And I am fortunate my whole staff feels that same way.”
Geib says the next steps for her pharmacy include expanding services to group homes. And a bigger location wouldn’t hurt either. It would help her provide even better personal care to anyone who needs it in or around Wooster.
Ohio Newsroom member station Ideastream Public Media’s new Sound of Us series is about people helping each other in Wayne and Medina counties. Find more stories in the series here: https://www.ideastream.org/sound-of-us.