Heidi Geib always knew she wanted to work in medicine. Well, sort of.
鈥淚 really love the medical world,鈥� Geib says. 鈥淏ut I hate blood, needles, all that stuff.鈥�
She鈥檚 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鈥檛 see her future at any of those companies. To her, they really didn鈥檛 care for their patients and were worried more about their bottom line. But Geib made great relationships with her patients along the way.
鈥淲hen I left my last job, they kept calling me, wanting to know where I was going to go because they wanted to follow,鈥� Geib said. 鈥淚 didn't really have a plan. So I wasn't sure what I was going to do.鈥�
So, Geib opened Heidi鈥檚 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鈥檚 a little small, but inside is a lifeline for folks without access to their medications.
鈥淲e really try to take care of people,鈥� Geib said. 鈥淵ou'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.鈥�
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 it would close 800 stores, including 180 here in Ohio. Walgreens may 25% of its 8,200 stores. CVS announced 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鈥檙e 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鈥檛 leave home, have started to cover towns without access to a local pharmacy.
鈥淓verywhere that has lost Rite Aid is really feeling it,鈥� Geib said. 鈥淧eople are just busy scrambling. Everybody is trying to figure out where to go and what to do.鈥�
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.
鈥淲e see that the premium prices charged at convenience stores are not in line with where consumers are at right now,鈥� Josephson said. 鈥淲e're pretty price-sensitive, so these stores aren't getting as much foot traffic or interest from buyers.鈥�
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 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. show that older adults who have a closer relationship with their pharmacist tend to be stricter about adhering to their medication regimes.
鈥淓specially for those who are older, having that convenience of their pharmacy being close by [is important],鈥� Josephson said. 鈥淔or 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.鈥�
That human connection is what makes Geib鈥檚 work so important. Heidi鈥檚 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鈥� kids and pets.
鈥淲e are delivering meds, but we're also kind of checking in on some of our people who live by themselves,鈥� Geib said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e never never a number for sure, but we like it that way. And I am fortunate my whole staff feels that same way.鈥�
Geib says the next steps for her pharmacy include expanding services to group homes. And a bigger location wouldn鈥檛 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鈥檚 new Sound of Us series is about people helping each other in Wayne and Medina counties. Find more stories in the series here: .
