GERMANTOWN, Ohio — Katie Perry, a Cedarville University pharmacy graduate, decided that rather than working in a chain, she wanted to move back to her small hometown and open a much-needed neighborhood pharmacy.
What You Need To Know
- Katie Perry, a graduate of Cedarville University’s pharmacy school, went into the profession to help others
- She quickly realized she couldn’t interact with her patients as much as she’d like at a chain pharmacy
- Perry moved back to her hometown and opened Germantown Pharmacy, the only neighborhood pharmacy there
- Perry along with her mom, brother, and sister all help keep the pharmacy running smoothly
Perry never thought this is where she would end up.
“This wasn’t the path that I thought I would be taking,” she said.
After graduating from pharmacy school at Cedarville University, she thought she’d work in a chain pharmacy, but quickly realized it wasn’t for her.
“That’s pretty much why I wanted to do an independent pharmacy because some of the other places that I’ve worked in the past, like chains, they don’t encourage you to really spend time with the people,” Perry said.
Perry knew she wanted to interact with her patients, so she decided to open her own neighborhood pharmacy
“This is the place that gives me the opportunity to do that because it’s mine!” she said.
Perry moved back to her hometown and opened Germantown Pharmacy, the area’s only neighborhood pharmacy.
“This is the way that it used to be a little bit,” she said. “People are accustomed to knowing the people behind the counter and knowing that we care about them.”
But she didn’t do it alone. Her mom, brother and sister all regularly help out.
“A lot of people would tell you right now it’s hard to find good help but one thing that’s been really nice for me is my family is really invested in making this place successful,” Perry said.
“Just to get to watch her be a mom and be a wife and also work two jobs and open a pharmacy was really cool for me,” Abby Woodard, Perry’s sister, said. “I definitely learned a lot from that. Just seeing how patient she is and how much she cares about her patients.”
Woodard, a pharmacy student at Cedarville set to graduate this spring, said she hopes to open another branch in nearby neighborhoods that don’t have a local pharmacy.
“There’s definitely a need in a lot of local areas for independent pharmacies like this,” Woodard said. “There’s just a big role they can play in the community.”
For Perry, the finished product is thanks to her family and her education at Cedarville.
“The things that I learned there kind of laid the foundation for us to open this here,” she said.
