Longtime local pharmacy to close at month's end

WATERLOO, Iowa When Jim Hughes closes Q&T Health Mart Pharmacy in Eveland Plaza at the end of the month, it will be almost 27 years to the day he took over as owner of the store.

Hughes, who took over ownership of the store and opened Aug. 1, 1985, is retiring and closing the store. Since then, the small business has seen a number of changes and so has the industry in which he works.

When Hughes, 68, opened his doors for the first time, he was among about a dozen independent pharmacies the metro area. Now, he is one of four, including nearby Greenwood Pharmacies and Evansdale Pharmacy.

The chain stores are buying out the independents, Hughes said, adding grocery store chains are now in the pharmacy business, as well. Its getting harder and harder for independent stores to compete.

Hughes took over ownership after working at Varly Pharmacy. Before that, Hughes worked for nine years as a pharmacist at the University of Northern Iowa student health center. The son of a pharmacist, his brother also owned his own pharmacy in Colorado.

It runs in the family, he said. I knew I would be owning my own pharmacy one day.

Customers files are being transferred to Walgreens. Hughes said he tried to find an independent pharmacist to take over the store when he put it up for sale in January. One lead fell through. The only other interest in the business was from large chain stores.

I wanted it to stay open, he said.

Another hurdle small operators face is paperwork and dealing with Medicare reimbursements which, in most transactions, is less than what Medicaid had paid, Hughes said.

There are so many forms, he said. It seems like theyre trying to drive the small guys out.

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Longtime local pharmacy to close at month's end