Wesson News
Wesson residents Abby and Carlos Garcia have manifested their love for people and their local area into a business that gives them the opportunity to serve both. The two opened KC Family Pharmacy in May of 2023 in order to offer their community a personal touch.
“We could see there was a need, from working in corporate for too long,” said pharmacist-owner Abby. “There was a desperate need for personalized service [and] personalized care. The ‘community pharmacy’ was not what it used to be, when it comes to big box stores.”
“We lost our joy for the profession when we couldn’t personalize care and services,” said Garcia.
Garcia’s grandparents, Lester and Katie Furr, owned Wesson Drugstore (where Milltown Salon is now located) from 1948 to 1971. The Furrs were part-owners with pharmacist Lonnie and Iris Freeman. Wesson Drugstore was not the typical drug store - it had a wedding registry, film drop-off, comic books, fancy chocolates, tie-dyed t-shirts, and even bus tickets, as it served as a bus stop.
Garcia is keeping tradition in the same way.
The pharmacy has a large gift shop, which Garcia says has filled a void in the area, offering favorite local and collegiate team items and apparel, gift cards, men’s clothing, and even HGTV’s Laurel Mercantile/Scotsman products.
KC Family Pharmacy full-time pharmacist Dana Brooks Shoemake, another Wesson native and resident, says she is more fulfilled with her job being a local business.
“We are able to do what we are called to do now,” said Shoemake.
Shoemake has been a pharmacist since 2007. Both Garcia and Shoemake, who were college roommates, received their pharmacy degrees at Ole Miss and have worked together ever since.
“I was at Mississippi College in pre-med [before going to pharmacy school],” said Shoemake. “[As an undergrad], I got a job as a tech at a small, independent pharmacy in Clinton, and I loved it. I loved seeing people and being able to take care of them.”
The two finished pharmacy school and went to work at a large chain pharmacy.
“We didn’t realize we were so far removed from loving on people,” said Garcia. “Some days, it was an assembly line. I couldn’t ask about your babies, or how you were doing, or visit. It was busy and never a good time to personalize care.”
“This has made me come full circle, seeing people, hugging them, being able to talk to them, which is different, because I was too busy at my other job,” said Shoemake.
With six employees, including two full-time pharmacists, KC Family Pharmacy owners and employees say they are proud to fill what they believe was a big community need.
KC takes almost all insurance providers and will handle all logistics, if needed, from calling the doctor’s office to the transfer process, “because we actually have time to fully take care of the patient now,” explained Shoemake.
While the two say that big pharmacies likely have an hour wait time or more, KC Family Pharmacy says their wait time is ten to fifteen minutes – at most.
“We’re trying to make [picking up your medicine] an easy, pleasant experience, instead of something you dread,” said Shoemake.
Garcia acknowledged that the biggest source of her daily gratification is “loving on people,” and says she is thankful she gets to do that now.
KC Family Pharmacy is located at 657 Caldwell Drive in Hazlehurst.
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