Daniel Pharmacy Caring is key at Daniel Pharmacy

By BILL SHEA bshea@messengernews.net

In an era in which corporate chains have steadily squeezed out independent drug stores, it takes something special to keep a family-owned pharmacy going for 60 years.

For Daniel Pharmacy in downtown Fort Dodge, caring is that special ingredient, according to owner John Daniel.

“You can’t do it without a great team, and the team’s got to care,” he said.

“We care,” he added.

Since the pharmacy opened in 1963, it has served multiple generations of area families. Daniel recalls filling prescriptions for children decades ago who are now coming into the pharmacy with their own children.

“We’ve gone through several generations,” he said.

The pharmacy has sat at the corner of Central Avenue and 12th Street since the beginning, although it has been expanded a couple of times.

Daniel said he was getting ready to graduate from pharmacy school at the University of Iowa, when his father, also named John Daniel, began looking for a place where he could open a corner drug store. The corner of Central Avenue and 12th Street was the only one he could find.

Daniel Pharmacy opened May 15, 1963. The neon signs on the building, which have become a kind of downtown landmark, went up a little later.

Initially, the pharmacy was staffed by Daniel and his parents, John and Renee. He was the only pharmacist.

The Daniel family retains a major role in their business. Daniel’s wife, Margo, works behind the customer service counter. Son John is a pharmacist and daughter Mary Kay handles a variety of chores in addition to running her own business next door, Mary Kay’s Gifts and Home Decor.

The process of providing medicine to people has obviously evolved in the 60 years since the pharmacy opened.

Daniel and his fellow pharmacists no longer have to decipher what a doctor scribbled on a prescription pad, because 99 percent of prescriptions are transmitted to the pharmacy electronically.

For many prescriptions, a machine called a Script Pro actually counts pills and pours them into bottles. The pharmacists then check the machine’s work.

Medical science has evolved significantly since 1963, greatly multiplying the amount of medicines available. But Daniel said there are “still some old standby drugs that we still use.”

He said there are a lot of new medicines to treat acid reflux, and the products available to treat diabetes have changed a lot in the last five to six years.

The scope of what pharmacists do and what pharmacies offer to customers has also evolved.

The pharmacists at Daniel Pharmacy provide flu and COVID vaccinations. They also do tests for strep, flu, and COVID, along with doing a blood test for diabetics to check a blood sugar level known as A1c.

The pharmacy also offers a wide array of home health care equipment, including plush lift chairs that help someone get up from the seated position.

Despite the array of technology and services, basic caring for the customer remains at the core of the pharmacy’s work.

“The most rewarding part of working at Daniel Pharmacy is making a positive impact on our patients’ lives, because we really do care about all of our patients,” said Pharmacist Lisa Flaherty. “Whatever we can do to help them is most important to us.”