February 13, 2018
What is your favorite part of owning an independent pharmacy?
The sole reason for being an independent pharmacy is to take care of local community members and give back to others. We think giving back to the community is an obligation of the local community members; it’s something that everyone should be doing, and we do it through the quality care given to our customers every single day.
What role does your independent pharmacy play in your local community?
Belew Drug follows the Golden Rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated. For 53 years, the Knoxville community has supported the Belew family and businesses. We feel it is an obligation to be involved with giving back to our communities.
We are big supporters of the Boy Scouts of America and offer a back-to-school program to local elementary schools where we provide backpacks with school supplies to children. Belew Drug also has a shadowing program for local high school students who want to understand what exactly goes on with a pharmacy and the work that has to be put into it.
One of our most memorable employee initiatives was the “shop local” program. Each of our employees was given a certain amount of money, all in $2 bills, then encouraged to spend as they felt. The only rules were that they had to give at least $10 to a charity, no business could get more than $50, and all merchants they bought from had to be locally owned, independent businesses. To this day, we continue to see $2 bills floating around town!
What unique health needs do you have in your community?
Our most powerful tool in assessing areas of need in the Knoxville community is the relationships we have with our patients and providers. We are constantly asking our community to tell us what they need. East Tennessee is an area with some unique geographic features that make us a hotbed for diabetes, COPD, asthma-related illnesses, and unfortunately, opiate abuse. We use the viewpoints of a varied professional staff, including pharmacists, technicians, a social worker, a nurse, and our customer service staff to provide us with a comprehensive approach to any given problem.
What does Locally Loved mean to you?
We have a part in this community that cannot be replaced. We serve our community, and no one can provide for them like we can.
