LifeLine24 Pharmacy will become one of the first independently owned retail pharmacies in Northern Kentucky to open since three of the region’s oldest operating community pharmacies closed in 2023.
That year, a wave of independently owned pharmacy closures rocked Northern Kentucky. Fort Thomas Drug Center, Ludlow Pharmacy and Alexandria Drug permanently shuttered within a span of six months.
The owners cited challenging economic conditions exacerbated by Pharmacy Benefit Managers, third-party corporations that administer prescription drug benefits for health insurance plans, employers and individuals. The prescriptions of each pharmacy’s customers were transferred to nearby big-box pharmacies such as Walgreens.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers have been accused of inflating prices for both insurers and consumers. Joseph Wittrock, founder of LifeLine24, is set to open the pharmacy brand’s first retail store in Cold Spring, bucking the trend of closures that impacted several local communities in 2023.
The original LifeLine24 is a “closed-door” pharmacy that delivers medications and pharmaceutical services to facilities such as nursing homes. Closed-door pharmacies only serve patients in long-term care facilities and do not serve the general public.
Due to the pharmacy closures, Wittrock noticed an opening in the market. Neither Fort Thomas nor Ludlow has a pharmacy operating within city limits. He, along with his son Jantzen, wanted LifeLine24 to become a trusted and familiar face to customers in central Campbell County.
“It’s definitely a little bit of a scary feeling there,” Joseph said. “The community outreach to us as well has been great. If you look on Facebook, just the different comments and things – everybody is very excited about us opening up.”
LifeLine24 is set to open on Saturday, March 1, in the former Peoples Bank building. The Wittrock’s purchased it from Citizens Deposit Bank & Trust Inc. in September 2024, according to Campbell County Property Valuation Administrator records.
Joseph explained that the former bank building was halfway between Fort Thomas and Alexandria, two of the communities impacted by the independent pharmacy closures. Additionally, it’s located directly off the AA Highway exit ramp into Cold Spring, allowing the pharmacy to access potential customers traveling up and down the highway.
“It’s central to Alexandria Drug closing, Fort Thomas Drugs closing – I’m hoping I can get both of those,” Joseph said. “Then being right here on the 27 with the traffic light and having the AA Highway right there made this an ideal situation.”
The Wittrocks said the pharmacy will employ four pharmacists, including Joseph, who will rotate throughout the week between Cold Spring and Hamilton, Ohio. Additionally, the branch will employ four pharmacy technicians, all of whom are on track to graduate or have graduated from Northern Kentucky University.
Upon opening, the pharmacy will offer three months of free deliveries. After that, delivery fees will range in price from $3, $7 and $11 depending on how far the drop off location is from the pharmacy.
Jantzen told LINK nky that one of the biggest hurdles of opening the pharmacy was getting approved for the proper licenses by insurance companies.
“It’s been a lot of stress with the time that it’s taken, and just that’ll be a very exciting time when we finally got it,” Jantzen said.
