Located just east of Muncy in Clarkstown, the Ben Franklin Store, 2195 Route 422 Highway, offers a convenience to customers unlike many mainstream drug stores, according to owner and pharmacist Gary Peck.
"We push the idea of shops - a lot of shops under one roof," Peck said.
He said that what sets them apart from many drug stores is the fabric shop, gift shop and craft shop merchandise that makes his store unique.
Article Photos
ALISSA EATON/Sun-Gazette
Sharon Culver stands in front of a floral display in the store’s floral shoppe — one of the several
departments that makes Ben Franklin unique, according to owner and pharmacist Gary Peck.
"We really key in on those," he said, "but we do have a lot of general merchandise."
The store is also home to office supplies, health and beauty supplies, a custom framing and floral department, he said.
"We really push customer service, whether it's with prescriptions or in framing, we try to help the person the best way we can," Peck said.
The Ben Franklin Store opened in 1981, Peck said, and has since acquired two more locations: Towanda in 1995 and its Milton location in 2003.
The store in Clarkstown underwent an expansion in 1992, Peck said, which enlarged its site for business and made room available for its affiliated Pharmacy Services, Inc.
Pharmacy Services provides in-home care and delivery of IV's and IV medications, which is often termed an "infusion pharmacy."
With this type of service, Peck said they provide everything necessary to the patient, such as the IV poles and all medications involved so that administering the medications is done as safely as possible.
"It gives people an alternate pathway for treatment," Peck said. "So if people want to be at home or can be at home (for treatment), they can.
"It also makes it so people can get out of the hospital earlier or prevents them from having to go into nursing homes," he added.
Pharmacy Services is 100 percent home delivery, Peck added, servicing areas as far south as Selinsgrove and State College and as far north as the New York state line.
"For a rural area, you have to cover a large amount," Peck said.
The economic state of the country has Ben Franklin's pharmacy staff putting its customer service skills to work, according to Peck.
With fluctuating costs of prescriptions, customers who have lost jobs are having a hard time finding ways to afford their medications, he said.
"There's always somebody everyday," he said, "somebody always has a question about what we can do to help with prescriptions. It's an everyday process."
Peck said that he and his staff work with insurance companies to see what can be covered for those customers who are having a hard time.
"It's projected to be a challenging year," he said. "There are a lot of challenges out there, but we're upbeat. We try to help the people where ever we can."
While many patients using the pharmacy are local residents from the eastern end of Lycoming County, Peck said his store sees clientele coming in from all over the region.
"We have people coming in from Lock Haven and Bloomsburg," he said as an example. "People stop in to see what we have. We're not just a Muncy store."
The Ben Franklin Store can be reached at 546-8272.
