Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Groves Pharmacy will close its doors on Sept. 27 largely because of the regulatory burden created by Medicare Part D rules, its owners say.
Owners Diana and Ronnie Hill have sold the business to Safeway.
Ronnie Hill will go to work at the Safeway Pharmacy while Diana Hill is retiring for health reasons. Her son, Christopher Hill, who also works at Groves, is going to pursue other interests.
He enjoys creating video games, Diana Hill said, and will pursue something in that area.
Safeway has offered positions outside the pharmacy to Groves’ employees Michele Tice, who has worked at Groves for seven years, and Sherry Lindberg, who has worked there since March.
The Hills purchased Groves from Bob Ruff 10 years ago, moving to Sweet Home from Folsom, Calif. They owned a pharmacy in Sacramento, Calif.
“It was like moving into a family,” Diana Hill said of moving to Sweet Home. “They all know you by first names. They see you, you wave.”
Safeway gave them a good offer, she said, and they decided to take it before they had to start borrowing money.
“(Part D) just totally destroyed all independents,” Hill said. “It gave them (the federal government) control over all your money.”
Part D has forced more than 1,300 independent pharmacies, more than 5 percent, out of business since it was created last year, according to trade magazines, Ronnie Hill said.
Under Part D, the pharmacies don’t get paid quickly or by the time the rules say they are supposed to, Diana Hill said. There’s no guarantee when the pharmacy will get paid.
The rules leave pharmacies with two to three times as much revenue outstanding as they had before the rule, Ronnie Hill said. “I can’t keep this up.”
“The more people you’ve got, the more drugs you have to buy, and less money is coming in,” Diana Hill said.
Leaving their customers, their friends, is the hardest part of it all, she said. “You get to know them all. We have some that come in the door and expect a hug before anything else.”
The most important thing as customers transfer to Safeway is that they are satisfied, she said. “I want them to be happy. I know we can’t keep them here, but I want them to be happy there.”
The crew will all be at Safeway, she said, and they’ll be joining the “fantastic” crew from Hometown Drug, which sold to Safeway earlier this year, along with the good crew from Safeway.
This week, the store is offering 30 percent off on everything, Diana Hill said. Everything has to go.