YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
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Lynn Morris opened Family Pharmacy on Aug. 20, 1977. He filled 12 prescriptions that day. |ret||ret||tab|
Today, Family Pharmacy's nine stores fill more than 3,000 prescriptions daily and serve walk-in customers and 81 health-care facilities and nursing homes located within an hour's drive of Springfield. |ret||ret||tab|
The first Family Pharmacy was located in Ozark. Over the years, locations were added in Branson West, Rogersville, Strafford, Republic, Sparta, Nixa, Willard and Hollister. |ret||ret||tab|
Morris said he plans to add locations in Forsyth, Ava and Seymour within the next two years, and he plans to build a new warehouse to house Family Pharmacy's growing inventory. |ret||ret||tab|
Expansion also is underway at Family Pharmacy in Ozark. Morris recently leased 1,400 square feet of office space adjacent to the drugstore. Some of the space will be used as a temporary warehouse and some will be used for a photo-processing center which will serve Family Pharmacy's nine locations. The expansion also will enable Morris to add a drive-up window.|ret||ret||tab|
"I'm constantly adding new services and looking for ways to improve," he said. "You have to take care of your customers."|ret||ret||tab|
Ozark is home to Family Pharmacy's corporate offices, which include Family Phar-macy Inc., Family Pharmacy Health Care Services, Family Pharmacy Partnership Services Inc., and Family Pharmacy Inc. of Strafford.|ret||ret||tab|
Morris and his wife Janet own Family Pharmacy Inc. and Family Pharmacy Healthcare Services, which provides prescriptions to 81 health-care facilities and nursing homes located within an hour's drive of Ozark. |ret||ret||tab|
Family Pharmacy Partnership Services Inc. was set up when the Morrises went into business with Mike and Carolyn Langston. The Morrises and the Langstons co-own drugstores in Nixa, Hollister, Branson West and Rogersville. |ret||ret||tab|
The Langstons, who are the sole owners of the Family Pharmacy drugstore in Strafford, set up Family Phar-macy Inc. of Strafford. |ret||ret||tab|
According to Lynn Morris, Family Pharmacy caters to small-town customers who want big-city services, variety and low prices. Almost every Family Pharmacy contains a wellness center that provides customers with everything from flu shots to diagnostic testing for common health ailments. Each drugstore contains a private counseling area for customers who have questions about their medications. Other services provided by Family Pharmacy include an after-hours emergency prescription service, a mail-order pharmacy service and home-delivery service in certain areas. |ret||ret||tab|
Family Pharmacy stocks more than drugs, vitamins and health care supplies, however. Customers can pick up gifts and greeting cards or grab a soft drink, buy some coffee or use the drugstore's photo copying machine, fax services, UPS services or postal services. Many customers, however, prefer to wait for their prescriptions in the drugstore's sitting area, which contains an electronic foot-massage machine they can use for free. |ret||ret||tab|
"Most people only think about going to a pharmacy to get their prescription filled," said Morris. "I want my customers to come in my drugstores for any number of reasons."|ret||ret||tab|
One of those reasons may be price. Morris said he prides himself on offering quality at low prices.|ret||ret||tab|
"I discount all prescription drugs, regardless of age," he said. "I believe everyone is on a fixed income, and everyone needs the best price."|ret||ret||tab|
Currently, Family Pharmacy accepts a wide variety of insurance plans. Morris said he contracts with as many different insurance companies as possible because it promotes customer retention.|ret||ret||tab|
"People change jobs and their insurance changes," he said. "If I didn't honor their new insurance, that customer would go somewhere else. Let's say that same customer gets a new job a few years later. Maybe I accept that company's insurance plan, but it doesn't matter now because I've already lost that customer's business. That's why I work with any insurance company that allows me to enroll."|ret||ret||tab|
In addition to running Family Pharmacy, Morris manages the pharmacy at Lakeland Regional Hospital in Springfield. He also works as a consultant for Bio-Kinetics Clinical Applications of Springfield, which conducts clinical drug trials and research. |ret||ret||tab|
Morris said he plans to expand Family Pharmacy's durable medical equipment section. At the moment, however, he's focused on his latest endeavor manufacturing veterinarian products. He's currently remodeling part of the Ozark Pharmacy office building and building a "clean room" for sterile processing and manufacturing of veterinary products. |ret||ret||tab|
Mandy Jones, the Morrises' daughter, currently serves as the assistant manager of Family Pharmacy in Sparta and will assist with the new veterinarian operation. She isn't the only family member involved in the business. Janet Morris runs Family Pharmacy's human resources department and oversees the operations of the drugstores' wellness centers. Melissa Sanders, another daughter, is a traveling technician for Family Pharmacy and Justin Sanders, their son, plans to enhance the company's marketing activities when he graduates from college.|ret||ret||tab|
Family Pharmacy growth and commitment to customer service hasn't gone unnoticed. The Ozark Chamber of Commerce named Family Pharmacy "Business of the Year" in 2001. In addition, Family Pharmacy was ranked 66th out of 100 national drugstore chains by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores last October.|ret||ret||tab|
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