NuCara Pharmacy transitions back into Home Store and More

NuCara Pharmacy transitioned back into its original facility Monday, Dec. 9, inside The Home Store and More, located at 202 SW Kent, Greenfield.

Greenfield pharmacist Rachel Hall sought the partnership of NuCara, which is based in Conrad, to open a new pharmacy in Greenfield last February when Shopko Hometown announced their store and pharmacy soon would be closing.

Hall says that opening the Greenfield location of NuCara Pharmacy happened when she and others came to the realization that if someone didn't step up, Greenfield residents would be without a local pharmacy option in their town.

"We felt for our patients because they don't have an option anymore and we don't have jobs anymore. It's a hit from all sides, it hit hard," Hall said. "But we were luckily able to come up with a plan in a short time frame."

That plan centered around the pharmacy taking over the Adair County Memorial Hospital's business office and operating out of that location on a temporary basis that lasted until last week when another more permanent solution became available.

While the business office space at the hospital wasn't as big as the pharmacy had been at Shopko and didn't offer a drive-through option for clients, Hall recognized it was the best option for the pharmacy to remain open.

"We couldn't have done it on such a short time frame without them helping us get into somewhere quickly. Getting inspected and getting somewhere improved in under two weeks, that's unheard of," Hall said. "We appreciate them, appreciate the space, but this gives us even more space and allows us to be able to expand our clinical offerings to the community and gives us more of the over the counters we can offer to people as well."

Hall said she was first approached by David Wallace when he had decided to open The Home Store and More, which opened in November with the hopes of bringing several retail items back to Greenfield that the community has lost in the last decade due to the closing of several small businesses.

"[David] approached us about coming back to where we were since it's already set up for a pharmacy and that was really nice," Hall said. "We had a couple of different possibilities but I think this is the best fit."

In addition to being able to expand their over-the-counter offerings, the pharmacy will now have a drive-through for customers to use again.

"I feel the drive-through is something people really appreciate and we appreciate too. If people are really sick and don't want to expose themselves to other people they can go through the drive-through. Some people appreciate it if they have a bunch of kids in the car and don't want to get out, or if they have mobility issues, especially when it gets really icy and slick," Hall explained. "We do home deliveries too, but [the drive-through] is a nice option if you're not able to make it into the store or if you're not feeling well."