Starting from Scratch: Fulfilling a Dream of Ownership

When Keith and Deborah Hersey opened Hersey Pharmacy in Durham, N.C., in January 2020 they planned a pharmacy that revolved around relationships with customers, unique product lines, and wellness programs.

Like so many others this year, they have had to pivot.

“The COVID pandemic was not part of the business plan,” says Keith Hersey, who has seen slow, but steady, prescription growth this year. Like a true independent, though, Hersey has been creative and adapted his ideas. For example, he quickly began offering delivery. With flu season, he plans to go to patients’ homes and offices. “We want to provide an alternative to people who are leery about going out or to go into a doctor’s office right now,” he says. “We’ve gotten good feedback on this.”

It’s no secret that community pharmacy is a competitive business, with shrinking reimbursements and competition from chains. The NCPA (National Community Pharmacists Association) reports in its annual digest that while independent pharmacy’s numbers are on the decline, there are still entrepreneurs who have the desire to start a pharmacy from scratch.

The Herseys are in that group. With an interest in healthcare for more than 20 years, including jobs in a lab, as a medical technologist, and as a pharmacy technician, Hersey says what inspired him to finally pursue pharmacy and receive his degree, is the relationship pharmacists have with their patients, something he remembers clearly from visiting the pharmacy in the small town in North Carolina where he grew up.

“The pharmacist knew everyone and their medications. He was part pharmacist, part doctor, part confidant,” says Hersey. “I’ve always had a good opinion about pharmacy, and I thought that was something I wanted to do.”

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