Local Owens Pharmacy to close in transition plan
Last week Owens Healthcare announced its plans to sell 12 pharmacy locations in Northern California, including one in Susanville. The company said its transition plan will focus on the continuity of care for patients.
According to a statement from Owens Healthcare, the Owens Pharmacy in Susanville is “finalizing an agreement pursuant to which the pharmacy files and pharmacy inventory would be transferred confidentially, to nearby Rite Aid locations.” The Owens Pharmacy in Palo Cedro will suffer the same fate.
Linda Edwards, a spokesperson for Owens Pharmacy, said the company regretted the closures, but it struggled with higher drug prices and reimbursements.
She said the store will remain open for “business as usual” until Aug. 7 or Aug. 8 to continue serving its customers. Edwards said Owens expects most of its employees will continue working for the new companies after the transition.
According to a statement from Owens Healthcare, the company announced “it will sell 12 retail pharmacies serving Northern California to CVS Pharmacy with the transition expected to be completed by the end of September. Owens Healthcare will be retaining and will continue to operate its long-term care pharmacy, compounding pharmacy, infusion services, medical equipment/respiratory services and real estate businesses.”
CVS will maintain operations at five locations rebranded as CVS Pharmacy in Redding (three locations), Anderson and Mt. Shasta.
Five other locations will close and, according to the statement, “all pharmacy files and pharmacy inventory will be transferred confidentially to the nearest CVS location.” Those stores are in Redding, two in Red Bluff, Weaverville and Weed.
“The two companies are working closely together to ensure that the transition is seamless for both patients and employees,” said Steve Madsen, president/CEO of Owens Healthcare, Inc. “Ensuring that patient care and pharmacy access is not interrupted is critical to both companies. All existing employees will be considered for positions with CVS Pharmacy.
“We are proud of our long history of ‘Customer Focused’ pharmacy. For more than 60 years, Owens Pharmacies have been taking exceptional care of our customers in the North State. We have done this with outstanding employees and one of the best company cultures in the country (recognized nationally by Fortune Magazine and the Great Place to Work Institute in 2004 and 2016). While we believe we have done a good job and our customers greatly appreciated us (voted Best Pharmacy in the North State 11 years straight). Due to the changing healthcare model, and after consulting with Pacific Pharmacy Consultants, the time has come for us to pass our retail business on to a company with more resources that can take great care of our wonderful customers, and for us to refocus on the continued growth and success of the other five divisions of Owens. We look forward to many more years serving the needs of the amazing people of the North State.”
John Friesen, executive chairman added, “It has been an honor for my family to serve your families’ retail pharmacy needs here in the North State for so many years. My father, Royce Friesen’s goal from the beginning of Owens in 1957 has been to provide an exceptional patient care experience. My family and I thank you for your years of support for Owens Pharmacy, and we are confident the transition to CVS will be smooth and beneficial for our patients and employees over the long run. As we have done since 1957, Owens will continue to grow and expand our existing five divisions and evaluate starting new lines of business.”
“CVS Pharmacy knows that these locations have been providing trusted pharmacy care for Northern California for years, and we are excited to continue that tradition,” said Joe Awais, regional director, CVS Pharmacy. “We will combine Owens core services with CVS pharmacy’s industry-leading products and services to ensuring that the pharmacy needs of these new patients are not only met, but exceeded.”
CVS Pharmacy offers unique clinical pharmacy services, medication adherence programs, and automatic refills to help patients take their medications on time and as directed, immunizations, text alerts to inform patients when their prescriptions are ready, and digital tools to help patients manage their prescriptions.
Patients and customers who are new to CVS Pharmacy will be introduced to a wide range of high-quality health, beauty and personal care products; exclusive private label products that come with a 100 percent money-back guarantee; and the CVS Pharmacy ExtraCare Program, the nation’s largest rewards program that provides customers with special savings, ExtraBucks, and offers that are earned by shopping in-store or at cvs.com.
About Owens Healthcare:
Owens Healthcare is a locally owned business consisting of a Retail Pharmacy division, Long Term Care Pharmacy division, Infusion Pharmacy division, Compounding Pharmacy division, Medical Equipment division, and Real Estate division. In addition, Owens Healthcare operates a management company that provides management services to the Owens’ divisions in addition to other businesses. Currently, the company employs more than 200 people and has been in business for more than 60 years. The company and employees share the common goal and motto of “Be Different, Be Better” which has guided them in their continual quest to set standards above their competition and to exceed customers’ expectations.
About CVS Pharmacy:
CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health, is America’s leading retail pharmacy with more than 9,800 locations. It is the first national pharmacy to end the sale of tobacco and the first pharmacy in the nation to receive the Community Pharmacy accreditation from URAC, the leading health care accreditation organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. CVS Pharmacy is reinventing pharmacy to help people on their path to better health by providing the most accessible and personalized expertise, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health is available at cvshealth.com.