Some may be surprised to know that White Cross Pharmacy is a family business which was founded in Providence in 1933 by Orestes and Primo Iacobucci.
Currently, Bob Iacobucci and Beth (Iacobucci) Brown now operate the pharmacy, representing the third generation at White Cross Pharmacy. The storefront was a familiar landmark in the neighborhood, located on the corner of Charles Street and Branch Avenue for close to seventy years.
To accommodate an expanding customer base, Bob Iacobucci, Orestes son and the second generation opened a second location in North Providence in 1987. White Cross also added a long-term care division in the early 1980s, servicing skilled nursing and assisted living facilities and residential group homes. Bob worked daily in the pharmacy for close to 60 years.
But in 1999, the owners realized that they needed to transform their business model in order to keep pace with the changes that were taking place in the industry and not get pushed out by the influx of retail pharmacy giants like CVS and Walgreens. They had already started diversifying into long-term care, servicing nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and group homes. White Cross Pharmacy was faced with a decision to continue with their current business model or to divest completely from the retail business and focus on long-term care.
“It was tough selling the retail space after so many years,” Beth says.
It turned out to be a sound business decision that has paid off not only for the Iacobucci family, but their many patients.
“We needed to do something different in order to sustain the business,” Bob says, “so we reinvented ourselves a few different times to survive and flourish and decided to concentrate on the long-term care pharmacy space with a concentration on specialty adherence packaging for patient’s medications.”
This decision would eventually open new doors in the health care space.
“We saw the opportunity with long-term care not only to survive in the short-term, but for growth and opportunity in the future,” Bob says.
“With that growth came automation,” Beth adds. “A lot of medpacking was being done by hand by our staff. We could only grow so much manually, so we need to invest in the technology to continue to gain business”
“There came a strong need in the market for multi-dosed medication packaging, particularly at a time when many facilities were searching for solutions to provide advanced care for their patients. Now we are seeing the same thing for patients trying to age at home,” Bob says.
Automation allowed White Cross to reimagine the way they provide their services to their customers. They utilize state-of-the-art equipment to safely and accurately package the MedPack, which is their signature product that takes the hassle out of getting bottles of medication. The MedPack has the medications organized by the Day and time you take your medications, and they are individually packed for you. The MedPack is truly for everyone and they deliver to any private residence or facility throughout Rhode Island as well as Massachusetts free of charge
For young people today, White Cross Pharmacy is much different from the one their parents and grandparents knew.
“We’re a long-term care pharmacy, but we service the community as well,” Beth says. “We service both facility-based patients, but also really trying to gain the attention of the community by letting them know we can serve everyone’s prescription needs even if you live at home and looking for reliable pharmacy without the hassle of the big-name pharmacies.”
“You don’t have to be older to come here, or be very sick, or need specialty medication,” Beth says. “We service anyone, and we take all insurances, state Medicaid, Medicare Part D, all commercial plans.”
White Cross Pharmacy also works with nursing discharge planners and nursing agencies who identify patients that are taking multiple medications and need to have their prescriptions managed. The patients get referred to White Cross Pharmacy who then handle their adherence packaging.
In the last fifteen years, they went from one automated machine to having five up and running. And White Cross Pharmacy now employs over forty highly trained workers.
In April of 2024, White Cross relocated to a larger building in Lincoln, expanding their footprint from the 5,000 square foot facility to more than14,000 square feet, giving them plenty of room for continued growth.
For people who want to avoid the hassle of a chain pharmacy White Cross Pharmacy is a perfect alternative. They synchronize the medications, packaging everything together for convenience and delivering it free of charge. The MedPack is a great solution for anyone who is taking more than one medication and wants to simplify their busy life.
Bob and Beth are proud of the heritage they represent as third-generation owners of a family business that was started by their grandfather more than 90 years ago. Their father Bob, although retired, can often be found at the pharmacy.
It’s hard to know what the future is going to bring, but you can count on White Cross Pharmacy to simplify your prescription regimen. They are located at 11 Blackstone Valley Place, Lincoln. To find out more about what White Cross Pharmacy has to offer, visit their website at www.whitecrosspharmacy.com or call Bob or Beth at 401-726-6200.
