Open house celebrates MediCenter, Reid partnership

(Left to right) Pharmacists Dave Rokosz and Peggy Rokosz, Dr. James Bertsch, Craig Towns, Brad Hester, Ben Austerman, Pharmacist Ken Newton, and Dr. Scott Marsteller

MediCenter Pharmacies and Reid celebrated a new partnership recently with an open house celebration at the Cambridge City location in Cutshaw’s Market.

Reid organizers said about 75 people stopped by for health screenings, including glucose, blood pressure and bone density testing. The staff from Hagerstown Family Practice, including Dr. Scott Marsteller, and from Cambridge City Family Medicine, including Dr. James Bertsch, were on hand to chat with community members.

The partnership between MediCenter Pharmacies, a group of community retail stores owned by pharmacists, and Reid is an example of a continuing major shift by caregivers nationally to better manage community health while reducing costs for providers and patients. The goal of the MediCenter Pharmacy and Reid partnership is to better manage compliance by patients with their medicines. The shift to population health management is one result of the Affordable Care Act, which puts an emphasis on hospitals playing a larger role in community health by helping to manage care beyond the health system’s campus. “So, health care organizations are working to structure their care to include all aspects of a patient’s life, through partnerships with other providers, pharmacies, and anyone who can have an impact on community wellness,” Hester said.

Currently, MediCenter Pharmacies operate in Cambridge City and Liberty. Cambridge City MediCenter Pharmacy, owned and operated by Ken Newton, is inside Cutshaw’s Market. Liberty MediCenter Pharmacy, owned and operated by the husband-wife pharmacy team of Dave and Peggy Rokosz, is in Woodruff’s Supermarket. MediCenter Pharmacies jointly owned by the Newtons, Rokosz’ and veteran pharmacy executive Don Schreiber have plans to expand in the Richmond and Connersville markets with Reid to better service patients and employees.

Newton said he sees communication as key, noting that patients who do not take medicines correctly are more likely to develop complications that might result in setbacks.

Dave Rokosz said the partnership aims to improve monitoring of overall patient care to help prevent complications and improve outcomes.

MediCenter Pharmacy services include compounding, auto refills, free delivery service; “synchronizing,” where all medications are filled at one time reducing trips for the patient; “dose packaging,” which puts medicines taken at the same time together for patients on multiple medications; and hands-on medication management. They share Reid’s vision of focusing on patient care across the continuum.