Get to know Dr. Marcus Howard; he is the owner of GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness in St. Louis, MO. His pharmacy is the only Black-owned in Missouri, serving more than 45,000 residents who had no pharmacy in their area.
Before establishing the pharmacy, Howard had left the St. Louis area to further his studies, obtaining a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D.
“I went to North Carolina to pursue my undergrad degree and my Ph.D., and I returned home to really take all the things that I learned out in the community in other places and bring them back home because I know St. Louis is a great place. It’s my home. I just wanted to bring something back and make a difference,” he said in an interview cited by AfroTech.
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The Black entrepreneur had always wanted to become a doctor growing up. This is because he wanted to eliminate disparities in the local area, particularly in healthcare.
“Growing up in North City, you see a lot of challenges, specifically as it relates to healthcare, growing up and in the neighborhood, and you want to make a difference,” Dr. Howard told the outlet. “When I was about 16, when I was in high school, I wanted to become a doctor because, one, I know a lot of people, they respect doctors. And then doctors, they change people’s lives, and they help people become healthier and experience a better quality of life. So that’s what I wanted to do.”
Through GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness, he is working to deal with the health disparities he identified while growing up. His innovative pharmacy startup adopted Walgreens and Amazon’s business models through free delivery and telehealth services.
This allows St. Louis residents who are living in pharmacy deserts to get pharmacy services from the comfort of their homes within minutes of calling the pharmacy.
Also, his telehealth services include medication education, health screenings, and connecting residents to healthcare providers for guidance.
Research shows that closures of big pharmacy chains like Walgreens have disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities, creating pharmacy deserts in these communities and affecting healthcare.
“To make pharmacy more accessible in pharmacy deserts, we are first bridging the trust gap and second, we are making it more convenient by offering free medication delivery and telehealth options,” said Dr. Howard in the press release. “I am looking forward to having a GreaterHealth Pharmacy in communities that need them most.”
