Kerr Drug evolves retail pharmacy with revamped community health center concept

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

Kerr Drug executives and distinguished guests — not to mention a sea of customers — gathered here last week for the grand opening of the company’s newest community healthcare center store. The revolutionary format, a blend of leading-edge, pharmacy-based clinical-care concepts with a full-scale drug store, marks the third such location for the regional pharmacy powerhouse, and continues the evolution of the concept, marrying some of the best new thinking in pharmacy care, disease management, contemporary drug store merchandising and convenience.

Two noticeable new wrinkles in Kerr’s newest community healthcare center, include, lower-profile gondolas and a main drag that leads directly from the front door to the pharmacy counter. The new, wide-open store design makes an immediate impression on customers, communicating instantly the full-range of health care services that are available. And just in case, they need some help navigating the myriad offerings available at the store, from immunizations to disease management, MTM, hearing services, nutritional counseling and a host of other services, a dedicated Health Resource Coordinator, stationed at a desk in the center of the store, is there to serve as a kind of health ambassador.

Central to Kerr’s clinical care mission are the five private exam rooms that line the back wall of the store. Room 1, a dedicated immunization room, was buzzing with activity the day of the Nov. 18th grand opening, as patients lined up for flu shots, both for the seasonal and the H1N1 vaccines. Rooms 2 and 3 are reserved for more in-depth patient counseling, generally diabetes or other disease management, or MTM counseling, while Room 4, a much larger room, is used for community health and wellness programs, patient education and regular meetings between clinical and traditional pharmacy staff.

And then there is the work that will go in Room 5, where Kerr Drug, in partnership with the University of North Carolina’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy, is piloting a new pharmacogenomics program that, in its simplest terms, will use DNA testing to optimize the therapeutic effect of the medications patients take. The revolutionary program, which marks an important first step for personalized pharmacy care, will target Plavix patients initially, Lisa Adams Padgett, PharmD, a clinical coordinator in the new Kerr Community Health Center, told Drug Store News, during a personal tour of the store.

The idea that a $250 cheek swab performed in the local community pharmacy could potentially save $50,000 in upstream costs related to a medication not having its desired effect speaks to Kerr’s core mission to advance pharmacy care far beyond simply dispensing. “The community pharmacist, medication therapy management, and the preventive approach to health care has been central to Kerr Drug’s business model from the beginning,” Kerr Drug president and CEO told guests at the grand opening during a special ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“We are at the doorstep not only of a new store, but also the future of community pharmacy,” he said. Inside there are tremendous opportunities for Kerr Drug, our customers — and as the word of this store spreads — for our industry.”

Crediting Civello for his leadership in pioneering the clinical-hybrid model, UNC Pharmacy School Dean Robert Blouin, who was also on hand to help celebrate the opening of the new store, added, “I can’t emphasize we would not be here today if not for Tony Civello. It takes more than just a vision; it takes commitment and the will to execute that vision.”

Blouin was joined by fellow UNC faculty, Dr. John Buse, chief of endocrinology at the university’s medical school, both of whom Civello noted were instrumental in the development of the community healthcare center.

To be sure, the 13,500-sq.-ft. store also packs the punch of a traditional drug store location, with an extensive presence in beauty, personal care, greeting cards and other key drug store categories. Not to be lost amid the in-store events staged for the Nov. 18th grand opening, which included free glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol and bone density screenings, were special cosmetic makeovers and beauty consultations from vendors including, CoverGirl, Wet N’ Wild and celebrity hair stylist David Babaii. Other free offers included weight loss consultations, posture evaluations chair massages.

Throughout the store informational signage is used to help customers make decisions at the point of sale, such as a sign in the vitamin aisle that educates moms on the need for children’s vitamins; “Almost 80% of children do not eat the recommended daily servings of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables.”

Another sign in the traditional first aid aisle walks customers through the basic uses for traditional remedies like rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, witch hazel and Epsom salt.

The store also features the Kerr’s, “Naturally Kerr 'store within a store'” format, which offers a large selection of natural and organic foods and homeopathic products. The concept, which debuted in two Kerr stores in April to coincide with Earth Day 2009, devotes a large chunk of the selling floor to new natural and homeopathic categories, including organic pastas, coffees and teas, salad dressings and snacks, along with gluten-free products and homeopathic remedies.

The new community healthcare center also offers an extensive beer and wine offering, including some local labels, such as Carolina Brewing Co., and a Blockbuster video kiosk.

One other unique front-end offering, is an interactive, customized orthotic ordering kiosk. The kiosk, supplied by Orthera uses a special scanning technology to take a digital image of the foot, which in conjunction with a basic patient assessment interface is used to design a custom-fit orthotic device at anywhere from one-quarter to one-half the typical price. The $99 orthotics are manufactured at the company’s California facility and mailed back to the store for pick up about a week later, generating another customer trip. So far, Kerr is the company’s first foray into retail pharmacy.

The new Kerr community healthcare center joins the chain’s other such locations in Sanford and Lenoir, N.C.

Click here to view photos of the new Kerr community healthcare center.