Business roundup: Lone Medicine Center Pharmacy grows to four stores, specialty lab – Canton Repository
CANTON — Adjusting with changes has helped the Medicine Center Pharmacy keep going for 45 years.
Paul White had worked 10 years with the former Schuman Drug when he decided, with his wife Susan, to open Canton’s first Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy franchise in 1976. The Whites opted out of the franchise in the late 1980s and renamed the store Medicine Center.
They haven’t looked back.
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Medicine Center has expanded to Louisville, Minerva and New Philadelphia. The company added an accredited non-sterile compounding laboratory in 2006 and opened an institutional pharmacy in 2010. A retail store — Half Off and Hot Buys — opened in Louisville in 2000.
The business grew from White as the lone pharmacist and a part-time employee to 75 employees and more than a dozen pharmacists.
Changes came as the business worked to meet the health care needs of customers, Paul White said.
“There have been a lot of changes not only to the pharmacy industry but to each of our communities, as well,” he said. “Our customers come first, and as their needs have grown, we have adapted alongside them. Many of our customers have been with us through generations. We know our customers, and they know us.”
The specialty pharmacies complement the company’s retail stores.
The accredited non-sterile compounding laboratory customizes medication for patients who may have allergies or require alternate formulations for medications. Medicine Center also serves assisted living and senior living facilities, group homes, correctional facilities and long-term care centers through the institutional pharmacy, which provides pre-packaged individual dose medication for patients.
Another change has been the pharmacy’s “Health Matters with Medicine Center Pharmacy” radio program. Paul White and his son Brad, also a register pharmacist, host the weekly program and interview medical experts.
In the stores, customers can participate in monthly low-cost health screenings and free blood pressure checks. For customers who are homebound, a member of the pharmacy team will shop for retail pharmacy needs and include the prescription delivery.
Canton Township business executive honored
Stan Glover, director of technical sales at Zeiger Industries, recently was honored for his 30 years of work helping the Plastics Industry Association.
The honor also made a special mention of Glover’s deep involvement in creating state, federal and international machinery safety standards for the plastics industry.
Zeiger Industries is a machine shop opened in 1990 by Don and Sandi Zeiger. The company designs, engineers and manufacturers valves, screws and other equipment used with plastic injection molding machinery.
Glover said the Plastics Industry Association has played an integral part in his career and support from Zeiger Industries has allowed him to participate.
The association formed in 1937 and has been working with members and the industry to help them compete globally, while advancing recycling and sustainability.
Barbco promotes Schmidt
Thomas W. Schmidt has been named vice president for business development at trenchless excavation equipment maker Barbco.
Schmidt, a manufacturing veteran, moved to the the newly created position. Before joining Barbco, he worked with several local companies, including Harrison Paint, Heinemann Saw Co., and Georgia Pacific
A family-owned business, Barbco makes equipment for the trenchless excavation, horizontal directional drilling, and underground manufacturing industries. Schmidt will report directly to the owners.
Schmidt is a local business advocate and community volunteer. He serves as treasurer for the National Sales and Marketing Executives, Akron Canton board; was recently elected vice president of the Stark County Manufacturer’s Workforce Development Partnership; and is on the Governor’s blue ribbon Manufacturing Extension Partnership Progressive Roundtable.
Local executive leads Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association
Stan Foraker, executive vice president and mortgage banking executive at First Commonwealth Bank, will lead the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association.
Founded in 1969, the association is devoted to residential and commercial real estate finance. Members come from more than 100 mortgage originators and servicers, along with investors and other related firms.
“Advocacy for the mortgage business has never been more important and I am excited to engage leaders in all organizations to address our varied housing needs in all our communities and for all families and individuals,” Foraker, who lives in North Canton, said in a prepared statement.
His term started May 10 and will end at the association’s annual convention in May 2022.