Personal touch offered at Iola Pharmacy

Iola Pharmacy is more than just a place to pick up prescriptions. It holds fast to the notion of a neighborhood drug store.
Offering over the counter medications and personal health items, Iola Pharmacy is a welcome retreat to a more personal level of business.
The store, at 109 E. Madison, offers Ambassador by Hallmark cards and numerous gift items, including University of Kansas and Kansas State University mementos. Iola Fillies and Mustangs gear, as well as state of Kansas curios and T-shirts can also be found. And, with October designated Cancer Awareness Month, Iola Pharmacy is offering commemorative items to support the cause. For a local touch, check out the collection of Allen County Historical Society post cards featuring pictures of old Iola.
Also available is hand-blown glass jewelry — the latest in fashion — while magnetic jewelry may balance your energy level and improve circulation. An ever-changing dollar section offers bargains on household needs like clothespins and cleaning supplies.
You can even stop in for a cup of Iola’s strongest coffee from two carafes serving Starbucks blends.
Prefer something a little sweeter? The pharmacy’s 50-cent, any size sodas are popular with the after school crowd.

IOLA PHARMACY has been in business since 1974.
Four local pharmacist/owners operate the business with the philosophy that the customer comes first. Jim Bauer, Travis Coffield, Jeff Dieker and Bill Walden all share the helm.
Services includes drive through prescription pick up at The Family Physicians/Iola Pharmacy clinic location, 1408 East St., and after-hours prescription processing for those who have a medical emergency or return from an out-of-town hospital visit.
“We drive in (to town) and get out of bed and get it,” Dieker of such prescriptions. “We are committed to our patients. If they need something, we back it up.”
In addition to filling prescriptions, the pharmacy also does extemporaneous compounding of lotions, creams and hormones, tailoring the medications to individual needs.
“Customer service is a higher priority with us (than with chain pharmacies) being owners,” Dieker noted. “If you don’t have good customer service, they won’t come back.”
“We all had worked here as students and saw the success that (original owner) Jim Arnott had,” Bauer said. “We wanted to continue that.”
When you work and live locally, Bauer noted, your customers are also “your friends, your neighbors, your kids’ friends’ parents. It’s a different job than a chain because you get to visit with the customers,” he noted.
Over the years, the pharmacy has grown to include a wide variety of medical-related services and products.
Iola Pharmacy carries medical accessories such as home blood pressure monitors, including the number one ranked brand, Bauer noted. Homeopathics, heating pads and ergonomic support cushions can also be found at the store.
Adjacent to the pharmacy downtown is Iola Respiratory and Home Medical, where one can find durable medical equipment such as lift chairs, motorized carts, athletic or injury braces and support shoes for those who have diabetes, foot problems or merely prefer an extra bounce in their step. Oxygen tanks and home machines and CPAP and BiPAP appliances for sleep apnea are also available through Iola Respiratory.
Back in the pharmacy section, on-site digital photography processing can be done at the self-service Sony Picture Station.
All told, Iola Pharmacy strives to be an all-purpose drug store, a goal — if one can judge by their growth — that is meeting with success.