Archive for March, 2011

While Joe and I were at a pharmacy conference, I learned about a web site called “Fight 4 Rx.” Joe had already heard about it and had actually asked over 100 of our customers to sign the petition that is featured on the web site. Fight4Rx is a grassroots movement by community pharmacists across the country who are trying to teach their patients about the value of community drugstores.

I’d like to ask those of you who have never heard about this to add your name to the patient petition. Most of you know that large PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers) force patients to use their mail order services and take away choices. Joe and I would like for you to sign the petition saying that you want to keep access to Plain City Druggist.

All you have to do when you get to the site is either print the petition out and have yourself and your friends and neighbors sign it or just click to send an email asking that your name be added to the petition. I clicked to email my name for the petition and the subject line of my email read: “Please Add My Name to the Petition-I Want Prescriptions at My Local Community Pharmacy.”

Please sign the petition HERE.

To combat the PBMs and forced mandatory mail order, pharmacists in New York have created “Operation AMMO,” which stands for Operation Anti-Mandatory Mail Order. To read more about what they are doing in their state to combat mail order, please visit the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York’s web site HERE.

Additionally, while we were at this conference Kimber Lanning spoke to us about the organization she belongs to in Arizona called “Local First Arizona.” What this group focuses on is asking people to shop at their local stores and stop spending their money out of town. Economic studies conducted by the group show that when someone buys something locally $73 from every $100 stays in the community supporting schools, law enforcement, local charities, and the people who work in the town. When that same person buy things out of town, only $43 out of every $100 spent stays in the local economy.

To see the studies and read more about shopping local, go HERE.

Additionally, this group supports the 10% Shift, where they ask consumers to shift 10% of what they would normally spend to local businesses. They don’t ask them to spend 10% more, only shift 10% of what they already spend to buy products they need in their own communities.

To read about the 10% Shift and calculate the impact on your local economy by making this small change, go HERE.

Mandatory Mail Order does not support local pharmacies. When businesses in Plain City choose who they want to provide their employees with health insurance, they need to make a choice that allows their employees to come to Plain City Druggist. Supporting insurance that forces a person to send their prescriptions to a company that may be thousands of miles away doesn’t just hurt us, it also hurts the whole community.

While they may think they are getting cheaper prices on that insurance, overall, they are cheating themselves and Plain City by taking money out of our local economy–money that pays our employees who then buy products from Charlie at the grocery store or Perry at the hardware; money that Joe and I spend on local taxes; money that we give to our church and local school programs and charities to help Plain City people and animals. That insurance company that forces mail order is giving no money back to Plain City for any of those things.

So think about these things the next time you have a choice. The biggest way to back up what you believe is with your money. Please use it locally. And FIGHT for what you believe in.

Readers’ Digest had so much success with their first “We Hear You America” contest (nearly half of every city and town in America participated in the first campaign) that they are now doing a second one. In this contest, you can “cheer” for your town for a chance to win a share of $7.5 million in funds and promotional support. While Plain City would get the funding, you could also win an RV. To cheer for Plain City, go HERE.

You can cheer up to 10 times a day for Plain City. Once you have submitted your information the first time, you can log back in to the site with just your email address. Once you are logged in, just keep hitting the “Cheer” button until you reach your 10 cheers. When you reach the 10 cheer limit, a message will tell you that you are at 10 cheers.

Once you have cheered for Plain City, you will be directed to a page where you can tell what your town needs. Some of the items people listed during the first contest were a new pool, better walking and biking pathes, and a grandstand to replace the one that was torn down.

You can also write a comment about “What Makes Your Town the Best of America?” Your stories about your “hometown heroes, bright ideas or special places” could then be featured in Readers’ Digest. So go on. Tell everyone your favorite things about Plain City. Don’t hold back.

Help Plain City win funds to make improvements that we all want and would enjoy. All you have to do is CHEER!

The St. John’s Girls’ Basketball Team won the All Ohio Lutheran School Basketball State Title on March 6. As many of you know, we follow the wins of the Lady Jaguars very closely, because Michaela Henderson, a part-time pharmacy employee (on her breaks and summer vacation), is a point guard and forward on the team (Michaela’s mom, Margie, is also a top team player here in the drugstore!).

St. John’s beat St. Paul Westlake in a score of 24-12 to take home the state title and trophy. Michaela (#14), along with McKenzie Wilson, was named to the All Tournament Team. 

The team will now travel to Valparaiso, Indiana on March 24-27 to represent Lutheran Schools of Ohio in the National Lutheran School Basketball Tournament. 

We’ll keep you posted on Michaela and the team as they represent Ohio in this match up of 31 Junior High girls teams from across the nation.

Good Luck, Michaela (and Margie, who will be cheering on her girls from the bleachers) and the Lady Jaguars as they venture forth on another basketball adventure.

To find out more, visit the St. John’s web site HERE.

Congratulations again to the Jonathan Alder Girls Basketball Team as they advance into the Elite Eight on their way to the Final Four in the OHSAA Division 2 Playoffs.

The Girls will be playing Cambridge this Friday night, March 11, at 7:30 pm at Zanesville High School. If they win this, they will be in the Final Four and will play on March 17 at 1 pm at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus.

Good Luck, Girls! We know you are headed for the Big Dance!

We would like to wish a very happy 40th birthday (we’re not quite sure if that is right, but we know Beverly’s still a spry chicken even if she is just a little bit older–it’s never nice to announce a lady’s true age) on March 10.

Beverly, we hope you will have a day filled with all the things you enjoy–a good book, a glass of Merlot, and a bit of sunshine to sit in and read.

We love you! Have the best birthday ever!