MENTONE - Saturday will mark the end of a era in Mentone.
The Pill Box Pharmacy will open its doors for the last time and bid farewell to the town when its doors close Saturday afternoon. The building that houses the business has been a drug store for more than 100 years."It will be emotional," said Bill Winn, who has owned the store since 1979. "For 28 years I have been able to do what I love to do - get in the car, drive to Mentone and fill prescriptions. I have enjoyed my job and loved to go to work, especially in Mentone, it's like home."
Winn said he loves working with people and helping them understand their medications. However, changes in Medicare drug reimbursements led to a steep decline in profits and, ultimately, the closing of the Mentone store Winn got his start in years ago.
The decline in income also prompted Winn to close the Pill Box in Milford. The Milford store's last day of business will be Aug. 4.
"I have run this business for 28 years and made a profit 27 of them," Winn said. "I have been losing money since January of 2006 (when the new Medicare plan took effect).
"In 2003, the Medicare Modernization Act was passed with its key component being Medicare coverage for prescription drugs beginning in January 2006. I spent 2005 learning about the program and then presenting its main points to my customers and as many community groups as I could schedule. My overall recommendation then, as well as now, was for folks that are eligible for Medicare Part D coverage to sign up for a plan. Our Pill Box staff spent many hours helping patients navigate through the confusing process of signing up for a plan.
"At the time, I knew reimbursements for dispensing medications would be reduced, but I thought we could adapt to this as we have in the past by making some changes within our business. Unfortunately, I miscalculated.
"Lower reimbursement from Medicare Part D, coupled with more aggressive mail order requirements for our younger patients, have forced us to do what we hoped we would never have to do. Close our small-town, lower-volume pharmacies.
"I will never claim to be the most astute business person, but we do have a record of being in business for 28 years. I simply was not able to maneuver myself out of this latest problem."
In 1979, Winn was a young pharmacist with a dream - to own his own store. At age 29, he worked out a deal with the owner of the Mentone store to put $5,000 down and make monthly payments to buy the business.
"And the rest is history," said Winn.
Winn and his wife, Sherry, also a pharmacist, ran the business in Mentone and raised their three children (Tracie, Ashley and Greg) there. Winn recalls working in the front of the store while the children slept and played in the back. It was not unusual for customers to visit the store just to see the children or share anecdotes with the family.
The Winns enjoyed being part of the small community and getting to know the customers they served. Through the years, the business expanded to include a store in Warsaw and a store in Milford.
The Pill Box in Warsaw will remain open, and, Winn hopes, soon will expand to a new building across the street from its current location. Winn hopes to expand the home medical portion of the business and have a large showroom with many models of products to choose from.
"Owning small businesses has always been a challenge, which is what I love about my work," Winn said. "Sherry and I have faced many competitive and difficult situations with our businesses through the years and have managed to survive and actually make money along the way. We are keeping our Warsaw location open, and we even plan to build a new location next year to expand our home medical equipment department."
Deciding to close the Milford and Mentone stores was not easy for Winn, who is an advocate for small local businesses. He says that there is nothing wrong with the big pharmacies, but because of the volume of prescriptions filled each day, personal service is lost.
"I want to keep doing this," Winn said. "I want to keep the pharmacy independent and not part of a big corporation. In the future I want another generation to run the business as an independent pharmacy. We want to keep the money in Kosciusko County."
