Medicine Center Pharmacy Celebrates 45-Year Anniversary & 10 Years Hosting Canton’s Health Matters Radio Program and Podcast

May 18, 2021—CANTON, OHIO—What began with a pharmacist, a dream and a part-time employee on West Tuscarawas Street in 1976 has grown to become a retail pharmacy business with four drive-thru pharmacy locations in Stark and Tuscarawas Counties, a radio program and podcast and 75 employees today.

Registered pharmacist, OPA Member Paul White and his wife, Susan White, founded the first Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy franchise in 1976 in Canton. As the needs of community and pharmacy changed, the Whites opted out of the franchise to grow the retail side of the business and established the Medicine Center Pharmacy.

“There have been a lot of changes not only to the pharmacy industry but to each of our communities as well. Our customers come first, and as their needs have grown, we have adapted alongside them. Many of our customers have been with us through generations. We know our customers, and they know us,” said Paul White, R.Ph.

Throughout the last 45 years the Whites have adapted to continually meet the health care needs of the local people. In 1988, the Medicine Center Pharmacy opened its second location in Louisville, followed by the addition of the Minerva pharmacy which opened in 1992. The company continued to grow with the addition of the Medicine Center Pharmacy in New Philadelphia in 1994.  Additionally, the Medicine Center Institutional Pharmacy was established in 2010, and a retail outlet store, Half Off and Hot Buys, opened next to the Louisville pharmacy in 2000.

In 2006, the company added a PCAB-Accredited Non-Sterile Compounding Laboratory which customizes medication for patients who may have allergies or require alternate formulations for medications. Medicine Center also serves assisted living and senior living communities, group homes, correctional facilities and long-term care facilities through Medicine Center’s Institutional Pharmacy capabilities, which provide pre-packaged individual dose medication for patients.

Health Matters
This year also marks the 10-year anniversary of the pharmacy’s Health Matters with the Medicine Center Pharmacy radio program. Hosted by OPA Members Paul White and son, Brad White, R.Ph., the pair interview medical experts every Friday morning to discuss current health care issues, care and the latest in treatment.

“Over the past 10 years, we have hosted approximately 500 live radio programs with local health care providers including surgeons, heart specialists, therapists, dieticians, cancer nurse navigators and more. It’s a service we provide for the community, and we have met so many interesting people and learned a lot about the latest in health care service and technology. We have talked with the doctors, and then when their patients come to see us in the pharmacies, we help in their healing,” explained Brad White, R.Ph. and Medicine Center’s Vice President.  

Each pharmacy hosts monthly low-cost health screenings, free blood pressure checks, free delivery as well as a free children’s vitamin program for grades K-5. For those who are homebound, a member of the pharmacy team will shop for retail pharmacy needs and include in the customer’s prescription delivery.

Customers can participate in free webinars focused on health care topics, and they are also assigned a pharmacy healthcare coach to ensure proper medication dosage and support their overall health care.

In addition to supporting the well-being of the community, Medicine Center Pharmacy has contributed to local school and PTO programs, youth sports programs, Rotary Club, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, American Cancer Society, Aultman Women’s Board and more.