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POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. – Regional Chain members gathered August 1-4 for the Annual Southern Drug Store Association Meeting. Fruth Pharmacy was this year’s host. The event was held at the Griffins Gate Resort in Lexington, Kentucky.
The meeting was attended by leadership from 11 Chain members: Kinney Drug, Hartig Drug, Sav-More Pharmacies, Auburn Pharmacy, Hi-School Pharmacy, Lewis Drug, Fruth Pharmacy, Drug Emporium, Express Rx, Care Rx, Osborn Drug, and invited chain 986 Pharmacy.
Ronna Hauser, SVP Policy and Pharmacy Affairs, of NCPA was also an invited guest. The event was sponsored by Cardinal Health, Centor and Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company.
Business meetings were held all day Thursday, half a day Friday and all day Saturday.
The agenda included presentations from each chain, and discussion of the most important topics in retail pharmacy. This “best practice sharing” model of meeting allowed for great discussion on topics including; State and Federal Policy, Reimbursement Concerns, Inventory Control, GLP1 Dispensing, Cyber concerns including the Change Healthcare cyber attack, Patient Safety Organizations, and the current PBM Landscape.
There was an afternoon of enjoyment on Friday with Golf, the Spa or Zip-lining. Meals provided additional time for sponsors and members to network and get specific questions answered. Evan Arnold, Senior Sales Director, of Centor commented that “Southern Drug is the best event his company attends each year. The unfettered access to the leadership of chains is the best of any event we attend.” Bill Ladwig of Lewis Drug commented, “Southern Drug is one of the most important meetings that we attend. The interaction with other chains is crucial.”
Guest Ken Thai, of 986 Pharmacy commented that the meeting was exactly the kind of peer to peer exchange that he needed as his company continues to grow. On Saturday night, Lynne Fruth passed the historic napkin, which bears the signature of over 25 former host chains to next year’s host Sav-Mor Pharmacies. Anthony Codrean accepted the napkin and the challenge to host another excellent meeting for Regional Chains in 2025. For information about Southern Drug, or questions about becoming a sponsor, please contact: Lynne Fruth at lfruth@fruthpharmacy.com
