Cindy Cocanower, pharmacist and manager, and the other employees at the Bend Pill Box Pharmacy will be moving from 325 N.E. Franklin Ave., the store's location for about 35 years, to 727 N.E. Greenwood Ave., next to Ericksons Thriftway market.

After about 35 years in the same location on Northeast Franklin Avenue, the Bend Pill Box Pharmacy plans to move into a larger space next to Ericksons Thriftway market on Northeast Greenwood Avenue.

The Pill Box should be operating in its new home at 727 N.E. Greenwood in December or January, said Cindy Cocanower, pharmacist and manager.

As best as she could determine, Cocanower believes the Pill Box has been located on Northeast Franklin, just east of Northeast Third Street, for about 35 years. The business began operating in 1970 near its present location, she said.

The move will nearly triple the pharmacy’s retail space — from 1,700 square feet to 5,000 — and give the Pill Box more room to provide individualized attention, the service that sets the independent pharmacy apart from the national chain stores, Cocanower said.

The Bend Pill Box is one of nine pharmacies around the state that belong to the Pill Box Drugs corporation, which consists of the nine outlets and a support office in Camas, Wash., that provides overall accounting, information technology, contracting and personnel services.

Along with retail pharmacies serving the general public, about half of the stores — including the Bend Pill Box — also serve nursing homes, assisted living centers and other long-term care facilities.

The Bend store delivers medications to its long-term care customers on weekdays. Having a vehicle and driver on the road Monday through Friday means the Pill Box can also deliver medications to its regular customers, for an additional fee, without a lot of additional expense.

“We’re trying to help people stay in their homes if they can,” she said, “seniors, disabled people, people who just don’t want to go out in the ice and snow.

“When you’re sick and have the flu, do you really want to go stand in line at the pharmacy?”

Employees at the Pill Box will also package medications in bubble-pack containers, which helps ensure correct dosages. For example, medications taken daily can be packaged together in one bubble and pushed through the foil backing when it’s time to take them.

In its new location, the Bend Pill Box will have a private space to conduct medication reviews, Cocanower said, which mostly take place over the phone now, and to fit braces and similar products.

The Greenwood location will not have a drive-up window, like the store on Franklin, but Cocanower said employees will provide curbside service. Customers will have more parking available at the new location, and they will not have to navigate the small stairway at the rear entrance on Franklin Avenue.

Cocanower agreed to answer a few additional questions from The Bulletin.

Q: Is it difficult operating as an independent pharmacy with the growth of national chain stores like Rite Aid and Walgreens, along with supermarkets and discount stores?

A: Yes, I would say so, based on how many have left the market in the Bend area, anyway. It’s (also) hard to address that because every business has difficulties.

Q: How has the competition affected the Bend Pill Box?

A: It forces us to be more creative. We have to work more closely with our customers. It’s the old adage of adapt or change, and hopefully, we can adapt faster.

Q: How does the Pill Box differ from other stores?

A: We have a retail license as well as an institutional license. That means we can service nursing homes (too). On the retail side, we work hard with customers to establish refill dates so they can fill all their prescriptions at one time. We like to call it synchronization.

Delivery is one of the unique, or individual, things we offer. (Another is) consulting with our customers. We can sit down and do medication reviews.

Q: Do some of those services cost more?

A: We charge a little extra to retail customers (for delivery and bubble-packaging) but not much. Most people don’t know that their co-pay is the same at large stores and small stores. And even if they have mail-order (prescriptions), they should get set up with a local pharmacy to fill in the gaps if something happens.

Q: How would you summarize the differences?

A: We get to know our customers. We try to understand more than just the prescriptions that they’re on. When I train new employees, that’s the first thing we tell them. We want you to get to know our customers. We want you to say, ‘Hi, Mrs. Jones.’ … Customer service is the most important thing.”

The basics

What: Bend Pill Box Pharmacy

Where: 325 N.E. Franklin Ave., Bend

Employees: 10

Phone: 541-382-1454

Web site: http://bendpillbox.com/