HOPE — A long-needed Hope pharmacy that opened to cheers from the community more than two years ago is now fighting for survival, its pharmacist Tim Jarnagin told Hope Town Council members.
Hope Wellness Pharmacy opened two and a half years ago, providing the northeast Bartholomew County town of 2,100 residents with a drug store for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Strong public support for a Hope pharmacy was evident, as nearly 10 percent of the town’s population is age 65 or older, with many homebound due to disabilities.
Since the median per capita income in Hope is $19,357, compared with $28,765 in Columbus, some community leaders said some people of all ages were having trouble securing transportation to larger communities with pharmacies.
In 2006, Hope Family Health Clinic co-founder Julie Glick Begin urged community leaders to make an in-town pharmacy a top priority. That same year, the need for a drug store was specifically placed in Hope’s comprehensive plan.
So when Jarnagin told the Hope Town Council on July 16 the pharmacy was struggling, council members listened with concern.
“This whole town needs your pharmacy,” councilman Clyde Compton said.
Hope Wellness doesn’t operate as conventional pharmacies in larger communities, Jarnagin said. The business switched to a new strategy using telepharmacy options on March 1.
While open each weekday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, Jarnagin said he only works in Hope two days a week.
“We really can’t afford to have a pharmacist five days a week,” Jarnagin told the council. “We had to go to telepharmacy in order to stay here.”
Telepharmacy refers to the delivery of pharmaceutical care via telecommunications to patients in locations where they may not have direct contact with a pharmacist.
On the days when Jarnagin is not physically in Hope, certified pharmacy technician Teresa Turner utilizes technology that links her drug store with the company’s parent firm, Panacea Pharmacy in Bloomington, Turner said.
Pharmacists in Bloomington must give their approval on all submitted prescriptions before Turner or licensed pharmacy technician-in-training Dana Stewart are allowed to fill it, Turner said.
The Bloomington pharmacists will likely counsel customers in Hope through a television monitor, she said.
Hope Wellness Pharmacy is only the second telepharmacy approved by the state of Indiana, Jarnagin said.
The state has strict regulations about telepharmacy locations, requiring facilities to be at least 10 miles away from the nearest drug store, and to have a percentage of the population facing certain socioeconomic challenges, Jarnagin said.
A 2004 study published in the Journal of Pharmacy Technology concluded that telepharmacies are capable of delivering the same quality of service as traditional facilities.
However, there are a number of other reasons why few independent drug stores are in operation today, provided by Jarnagin:
Independents don’t have the purchasing power of large pharmacy chains.
Business conditions for the entire industry are changing due to consolidations, corporate buyouts and the closing of some full-service department stores such as Kmart.
The cost of many medications, as well as a pharmacy’s gross profit, has dropped so low that Jarnagin says his firm is losing money on one out of every five prescriptions filled.
Contracts for Medicare Part B prescription plans were not as lucrative to pharmacies as originally anticipated.
But from the pharmacist’s perspective, the needs in Hope currently outweigh the challenges, Jarnagin said.
“There are just so many people in Hope who are not mobile, and it’s very hard from them to get to Columbus,” Jarnagin said.
Hope Wellness offers in-town delivery service, as well as to some nearby rural areas, Jarnagin said.
In addition, a customer’s prescription can be filled in as little as five minutes, compared to waits of 30 minutes or more in larger cities, Jarnagin said.
Hope Wellness also provides convenience packaging that separates proper dosages for mornings, afternoons and evenings, as well as offer a variety of vaccinations, he said.
Over the past few years, Jarnagin said his pharmacy has established relationships with the Hope Family Wellness Center and Miller’s Merry Manor that benefit the local population.
Some potential customers remain hesitant to patronize the pharmacy because they fear it will eventually close, according to Turner, a life-long Hope resident.
While that may be a natural fear resulting from many businesses closings over the past 30 years, Turner doesn’t want fear to create a self-fulfilling prophecy for her employer.
“Hope Wellness Pharmacy is not going anywhere,” Turner said. “Not as long as our neighbors support us.”
At the council meeting, Jarnagin said Hope Wellness is considering a number of improvements to increase its customer base.
Those include staying open until 7 p.m. on weekdays, offering Saturday morning hours, and expanding the delivery area, he said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Indiana telepharmacy rules ” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
In 2018, Indiana implemented new rules regarding the practice of telepharmacy.
The facility must be located at least 10 miles from an existing retail pharmacy unless (a) the applicant can sufficiently demonstrate how the proposed facility will promote public health, or (b) the conventional pharmacy located less than ten miles away is part of a hospital or a physician clinic setting.
There must be at least one pharmacist working at a telepharmacy for every six pharmacist interns, licensed pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy technicians in training at the supervising pharmacy and remote dispensing facility.
A remote dispensing facility that is not staffed by a pharmacist must be staffed by by at least one licensed pharmacy technician who:
- Has at least 2,000 hours of experience under the direct supervision of a pharmacist.
- Has successfully passed a certification examination approved by the state.
Source: Telepharm.com
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After Mills Pharmacy closed its doors in 1989, the town of Hope did not have its own drug store for almost 30 years.
With a large older population that includes several homebound residents, as well as low-income residents without dependable transportation, city leaders made attracting a pharmacy to Hope a priority.
In late 2016, it was announced that Hope Wellness Pharmacy would open by Feb. 1, 2017, in the Simpson building, 645 Harrison St., next to the Hope library.
It became the third drug store operated by Panacea Pharmacy, Inc. The company is owned by three pharmacists and business partners Lester Burris, Josh Anderson and Steven Anderson. Other Panacea pharmacies are in Bloomington and New Castle.
Last November, it was announced that long-time Bartholomew County pharmacist Tim Jarnagin had been hired at Hope Wellness. Other staff members include certified pharmacy technician Teresa Turner and licensed pharmacy technician-in-training Dana Stewart.
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