Jason Herrington has been employed by Best Value Pharmacies<\/a> in some way since August 2006.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pharmacist is in charge of Best Value\u2019s Country Day location after working his way up from the company\u2019s Ridglea North site as a pharmacy technician and going to pharmacy school.<\/p>\n Nearing his 20-year anniversary with the business, Herrington doesn\u2019t plan on leaving anytime soon \u2014 despite his daily 40-minute roundtrip commute from Burleson.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if I lived an hour away, I probably wouldn\u2019t make a change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Best Value is one of a few independently owned pharmacy businesses in North Texas with more than a dozen locations. Local pharmacy chains offer the human-centric interaction patients seek while also providing the structure pharmacists need in the ever-changing landscape of the business, industry leaders say.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely benefits to having that smaller chain pharmacy, franchise type of environment,\u201d said Ronna Hauser, senior vice president of policy and pharmacy affairs at the National Community Pharmacists Association. \u201cSeveral of our members do own multiple stores, and they\u2019re able to see success from growing the number of stores that they own.\u201d<\/p>\n Local chain pharmacies\u2019 business models vary. Some owners see it as valuable for the company business model to expand their footprint quickly, while others expand only when the opportunity arises.<\/p>\n Hauser said pharmacy owners in the association had an average of 2.3 locations as of October. North Texas, however, has fewer regional independent chains, she said.<\/p>\n Best Value Pharmacies is one of them. Started in 1969, original owner Ron Cheney opened his first location in Granbury.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the years, he purchased other local pharmacies in Texas towns, said Steven Maddox, CEO of Best Value.<\/p>\n Best Value now has 12 locations in Texas. The majority sit in rural communities, but the company also has three Fort Worth storefronts, including Herrington\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n The most recent expansion was the acquisition of a pharmacy in Hico over a decade ago. Maddox said company leaders only look to expand if it makes sense monetarily, largely based on community growth and patient population breakdowns with insurance.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty hard to just go and throw up shingles in a place and say, \u2018I\u2019m going to have a pharmacy here,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t always work.\u201d<\/p>\n ReNue Pharmacy\u2019s<\/a> business model is a little different. All eight of its locations sit within North Texas.<\/p>\n The company started in 2007 and expanded based on affiliations with clinics, explained Raj Chhadua, principal managing partner of ReNue Pharmacy.<\/p>\n The business grew quickly at the beginning, Chhadua said, reaching 15 locations at one point as they opened in \u201cpharmacy deserts\u201d where access to care is lacking. Despite having to close several storefronts in recent years, Chhadua said business looks good.<\/p>\n \u201cOur group is very bullish about independent pharmacies and independent pharmacy growth in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A Lone Star gap<\/p>\n In the Lone Star State, the majority of small chain pharmacies are either in rural areas or have locations with different names under the same ownership, Hauser said.<\/p>\n Part of the reason is the process of expansion. Many pharmacies expand similar to Best Value, purchasing an existing pharmacy from a business owner looking to retire or move on from the property.<\/p>\n Some keep their old names after the acquisition.<\/p>\n \u201cIf an owner that has ownership of multiple stores were to go in and just say, \u2018We\u2019re rebranding all these stores under the name I want,\u2019 you lose that local flavor and that local recognition,\u201d Hauser said.<\/p>\n Such expansion is also mostly in rural areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maddox notes that the younger generation of pharmacists often see corporate pharmacies \u2014 such as CVS and Walgreens \u2014 as the ideal starting spot for their careers. That means many small rural pharmacies have no one to leave their business to.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when some of these multi-store owners can come in and help them with a solution,\u201d Hauser said.<\/p>\n Chhadua said the lack of independent pharmacies is unique to metropolitan areas in Texas. Cities on the East Coast have more family-owned pharmacies that became regional powerhouses in the industry, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you go to Jersey with all these chain pharmacies, you\u2019ve got three to four generations of pharmacists that are building that out,\u201d he said. \u201cIn Texas, you have little pockets in rural areas, but in the metroplex, you don\u2019t have that generation-buildup into pharmacy chains.\u201d<\/p>\n Small business at heart<\/p>\n Small chains allow pharmacists to do what they do best \u2014 connect and serve with the community.<\/p>\n Prior to becoming CEO of Best Value, Maddox worked as a pharmacist at the company\u2019s Decatur location. Maddox notes that during his time running the pharmacy, he never worried about contracting with insurance and software companies.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does free them up to stay out of the business fray of it,\u201d Maddox said of Best Value\u2019s pharmacists.<\/p>\n Herrington finds that he is able to serve patients better through the freedom given to Best Value pharmacists. The company allows pharmacists in charge to run their storefronts in their own ways in order to become assets in the community.<\/p>\n For example, the Best Value Country Day location Herrington runs works with local dentists to provide annual tuberculosis testing. He also hosts a health fair at a local retirement community.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just good pharmacy work. Herrington said staying patient-centric throughout the community is good for business.<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding a relationship with one person and them talking about us to other people really does help us grow in that manner,\u201d Herrington said.<\/p>\n Being patient-centric is a cornerstone of independent pharmacy practice, regardless of whether or not the business is part of a chain, Chhadua said.<\/p>\n He mentioned wraparound services such as immunizations and diabetic education as examples from ReNue Pharmacy.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re the ones that are filling the gaps that the large-chain machines can\u2019t,\u201d Chhadua said of independent pharmacies. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones taking health care to a more personal level.\u201d<\/p>\n Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n