Springfield Business Journal_2020-09-07

SPECIAL COVERAGE INSIDE BILL DUNTON 2020 EGACY ADVISER $2.00 · SBJ.NET SEPT. 7-13, 2020 · VOL. 41, NO. 7 Family Pharmacy shut ters by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net After more than four decades operat- ing in the Ozarks, Family Pharmacy Inc. is closed for business. The company, acquired in 2018 out of bankruptcy court by Smith Management Services LLC for $16 million, shuttered all 23 of its Missouri stores.  An employee at Family Pharmacy’s 527 W. Kearney St. store confirmed Sept. 2 was the final day in operation. Walgreens spokesperson Phil Caruso said the com- pany reached an agreement with Fam- ily Pharmacy to acquire the prescription records from 20 Family Pharmacy stores in southwest Missouri. He declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal. Family Pharmacy’s Ozark office at 4101 N. State High- way NN served as headquarters for Smith Management Services, a subsidiary of South Carolina-based J.M. Smith Corp. Attempts to reach J.M. Smith Corp. officials were unsuccessful by press time and Carrie Tennis, se- nior director of operations for Smith Management Ser- vices, didn’t return messages seeking comment.  Family Pharmacy’s closure comes on the heels of two other local independent pharmacies – Down- town Pharmacy and Sunshine Health Mart Pharmacy – ceasing operations this summer. “It’s very sad. I consider that a tragedy in our field, seeing 23 stores closing down all at one time,” said Miguel Nunez, director of pharmacies at Grove Pharmacy, in reference to Family Pharmacy. Grove Pharmacy, which began in 1952, operates three Springfield stores. Nunez said the company isn’t looking to expand its operations. Industry challenges for indepen- dent pharmacy owners, such as a downward trend of reimbursement rates for Medicaid and Medicare prescriptions, are a contribut- ing factor in a desire to stand pat, he said. “As we are operating right now, the reimbursement that the insurance companies are giving the pharmacy, that doesn’t invite the existing owners to open more Miguel Nunez : Family Pharmacy’s closure is a tragedy for independent pharmacies. Jeff Nene : New distribution center will have room for future expansion. Convoy of Hope plans new distribution center in Republic by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net International humanitarian relief organization Con- voy of Hope is set to move part of its operations into Republic by next summer, as a 230,000-square-foot dis- tribution center is under development. Spokesperson Jeff Nene said the building would re- place its current distribution center in Springfield on South Patterson Avenue. He said the Springfield-based nonprofit has outgrown the 330 S. Patterson Ave. fa- cility, located just off Chestnut Expressway. However, leaving the Greene County area wasn’t a serious con- sideration for the 26-year-old organization that arrived in Springfield in 1996. “Springfield is home, so we wanted to stay here,” he said. “This is really where we grew up.”  Convoy of Hope’s headquar- ters will remain in Springfield, Nene said. The nonprofit’s ad- ministrative building is located just south of Commercial Street. Nene said Convoy of Hope DIGGING IN THE DIRT Work is underway in Republic for Convoy of Hope’s new distribution center.  provided by CITY OF REPUBLIC See CONVOY on page 39 Local pharmacy owners face headwinds, citing declining reimbursement rates See PHARMACY on page 40