Published: July 30, 2009 08:23 pm         

Frank's Pharmacy to close but Broadrick to continue on

Bruce Broadrick recalls fondly his first job in his father Frank’s pharmacy more than 40 years ago, when he was about 11.

“He let me work at the soda fountain for 50 cents an hour and all I could eat on Sunday afternoons,” he said.

After graduating from pharmacy school in 1976, Broadrick returned to Dalton to work at and eventually run Frank’s Pharmacy. But he says that, after 50 years in Dalton, Frank’s Pharmacy will close its doors for the final time on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Broadrick and all of his records will be going to the Walgreens at 1247 W. Walnut Ave.

“I really started thinking about this in the spring,” he said. “There are a lot of changes going on. Health care reform is just one thing. There are a lot of pressures. Medicare is requiring us to go through a certification process and carry a surety bond to be able to sell blood glucose strips. The certification process would cost $7,000. Meanwhile, insurance reimbursements continue to go down, and there’s no negotiation on that.”

But Broadrick said his reasons are mostly personal.

“Working 60 or 70 hours a week is getting old,” he said. “This allows me to continue to work and serve my patients, which was a big concern, without having the pressures of running an independent business.”

Broadrick said all of his files will be transferred to Walgreens, so his patients won’t have to get new prescriptions, and his phone number will transfer callers to Walgreens.

“Nobody likes change, but I think it will be a positive for them. Walgreens has an expanded product line and expanded hours,” he said. “One of my technicians is coming with me. My other pharmacist is going to work over in Chatsworth.”

Broadrick said he does not know yet what he will do with his building on south Thornton Avenue.

Broadrick comes from a family with a long history in health care.

His grandfather, Dr. G.L. Broaddrick, was a family physician in Whitfield County for more than 60 years. His uncle Charlie operated a pharmacy on Hamilton Street for many years, and his son Bruce is a pharmacist in Chattanooga.

Frank Broadrick graduated from the University of Georgia pharmacy school in 1959 and returned to Dalton to work for Clarence Griffin at Griffin Drug Co., said Broadrick.

“After a short time, Dad approached Mr. Griffin about buying the store. With a bank loan and a stock interest loan from his brother Charlie, he established Frank’s Pharmacy in 1959. Dad came to work the first day as the proud owner of his own business. There was only one problem. Mr. Griffin had taken all the cash on hand from the store. Dad called Mr. Griffin to borrow $25 for the cash register to make change,” Broadrick said.

He said his father had almost paid off his loans when a fire destroyed the business in 1964.

“Out of business for five months, my parents were devastated. Without the support of our good friend Bill Rice and Pruden Insurance, they would not have survived,” he said.

But the new store, and its soda fountain, drew in many customers.

“Dad recalled a time when the Goat Man was traveling in front of the store along his route on Dixie Highway. Pud Hackney, a daily regular at the soda fountain, invited the Goat Man in for a cup of coffee. The smell pretty much cleared the store,” he said.

“Our family has been blessed with the loyalty and friendship of our customers over the years,” Broadrick said. “We are serving many second, third, and even fourth generations for their pharmacy needs. My sale and moving to Walgreens will allow me to continue to serve my patients and friends.”

Broadrick, who is chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Health, said the sale will not only give him more time to spend with his family, it will also give him more time to give back to the community.

     

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