Island Drug

A location in Clinton, Wash., was opened in 2005, and a third location in La Conner, Wash., was added in 2006. Whidbey Island, where the Island Drug pharmacies are located, has a heavy military presence. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island helps drive the local economy, with active duty and retired U.S. Navy personnel. Otherwise, Syring describes the area as fairly diverse, with a mix of young and old. For Syring, a big part of patient care is putting staff in a position to make a positive impact. "Because there are so many variables and different aspects to our business, we are able to challenge people in areas they are interested in," he says. "So if someone takes an interest in compounding, we could send them to school to learn more about compound- ing, or it might be LTC. We're more diverse than just having a standard retail counter. We've had a lot of flow between departments. A few of the people running our DME department were formerly pharmacy cashiers. They took an interest and liking in DME, and they were able to go vertical in that direction in the company. Those types of things on the business side are rewardingto see. It's good that people have that ability. Our compounding technician has been with us for 25 years. Another person who works with him has been here 10 years. You want people to stay with you as long as possible." Along with LTC, DME, and compound- ing, which have been steady revenue producers, Syring has been making more of a push into CPAP. "Our services are all customer driven, based on what the community needs and requests, and what we need to do," he says. "With CPAP, we didn't used to do that. We only started in