Helping people get the outcomes they desire with medicine is what Stacy likes best about his work. What he likes least is dealing with insurance companies, which are getting more and more involved in health care. Increasingly, insurance companies as well as Medicare and Medicaid "tell people what doctor to see, where to get prescriptions, when to get them and what they can get," he said. This involvement can be frustrating for the pharmacist.

Much has stayed the same in the 24 years Stacy has been in practice; his work is still based on "the triangle of patient, doctor and pharmacist," he explained. However, there have also been changes. Other than the medications themselves, the biggest change has been the increase in third-party involvement. In 1977 only 10 to 20 percent of cases had managed care involvement, he said, whereas now 90 percent do.

Another change is that prices have skyrocketed due to manufacturers’ increases. Pharmacy margins are half what they used to be, Stacy said, adding that manufacturers say they need higher profit margins to fund research and development. A new medication can be patented for 17 years from the date of application for the patent; then generics often drive the price down. Stacy said it sometimes takes over 10 years to get a medication on the market, reducing the time the manufacturer has a monopoly.

Stacy is a member of the Illinois Pharmacists Association and the International Association of Compounding Pharmacists. Renewal of his Illinois pharmacist’s license requires 30 hours of continuing education every two years. "The education never ends," said his wife, Cindy, a pharmacy technician in the business. As part of his continuing education, in the next two months Bruce Stacy plans to attend seminars on natural medicine and on compounding natural hormones.

One example of compounding is incorporating ibuprofen in a transdermal gel to rub on the skin for patients who cannot take it in an oral form. Stacy demonstrated the procedure, which includes forcing the mixture of ibuprofen and other ingredients through a small hole multiple times to form a cream that penetrates the skin and carries the active ingredient through the skin.

Medicap stocks a long list of flavors to make medicines more palatable, especially for children. "No matter how effective the medicine, it can only help the child if he’ll take it," Stacy said. The most popular flavors for children are bubblegum, banana, grape and strawberry, but he also offers others including root beer, licorice and chocolate. These can be used to prepare medications in the form of lollipops or popsicles.

[Technicians Cindy Stacy and Diana Eckhardt
prepare a prescription.]

Much of Medicap’s compounding is done for animals. Veterinarians often prescribe medications formulated for humans but in different dosages. Stacy then compounds the medicine in the prescribed dose. He also prepares medications in a variety of dosage forms and flavors, including chicken, beef, liver and fish. For example, he can put medicine for a cat in a tuna-flavored gel that is rubbed on the paw or elsewhere. The cat cleans its skin by licking and ingests the medication, thus avoiding the need for capsules, which may be difficult to administer.

Other compounded medications available at Medicap include procarin, a new treatment for the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, and bio-identical hormones for menopausal women who do not tolerate synthetic hormones. Hospice patients who cannot swallow can be helped with medications in suppository form.

The Medicap mission statement promises that the pharmacist will spend time discussing personal health care needs, serve as a professional pharmacy care specialist, and help improve overall health and well-being. Part of carrying out this mission is exemplified in the question routinely asked by technicians when dispensing prescriptions: "Do you need to talk to the pharmacist?"

In the rare if much joked about case of unclear handwriting on a prescription, a call is placed to the physician to be sure. "We never guess; we make sure it’s right," Stacy said. "If we’re not sure, we call."

Besides Cindy Stacy, other pharmacy technicians employed at Medicap are Diana Eckhardt, Chris Dahms, Sarah Naugle and Meghan Bode. Jackie Verderber is a delivery person.

Medicap Pharmacy is located at 709 Woodlawn Road in Lincoln. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

[Bruce Stacy, registered pharmacist at Medicap Pharmacy, compounds ibuprofen into a transdermal gel.]

Stacy’s self-defined purpose is people-oriented: "to help people, provide advice and fill a need for them." His personalized service includes reviewing a patient’s profile before filling a prescription. However, this only helps if the customer purchases all medications at one place, he warned. Stacy said he asks what customers are looking for and what health problems they have before recommending an over-the-counter product.

In the past two years Medicap services have been expanded to include compounding, or custom-making, prescriptions. Stacy said compounding will be needed more and more as people become aware of all the services that can be provided.

Special needs served by compounding include making flavored medicines for children, varying dosages for animals, reproducing medications no longer available on the market, producing natural alternatives in hormone replacement therapy and creating alternative forms of medications that the patient can better tolerate. Stacy finds filling these needs a rewarding part of the practice of pharmacy.

Medicap Pharmacy belongs to a Des Moines-based franchise made up of about 175 stores, most of them individually owned. The Medicap franchise manufactures a brand of vitamins and offers equivalents for some over-the-counter medications. In addition, benefits of belonging to a franchise include buying power and ability to negotiate contracts, Stacy said.

Besides filling prescriptions, the store offers over-the-counter medications and medical supplies. Stock ranges from dietetic candies to durable medical goods and greeting cards. Medicap also stocks published guides to nutritional healing, herbs and natural medicine. In the last few years Stacy has been expanding into alternative and herbal medicines. He has trained in the field for a year, earning several natural medicine certificates. "The area is growing," he said, "as people decide to take natural products rather than Rx items that frequently have harsh side effects."

Stacy grew up in Joliet and graduated from North Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy. What was then a five-year program has since grown to six years, culminating now in a doctor of pharmacy degree. Stacy’s son Zachary is following in his father’s professional footsteps. After earning a master’s degree in chemistry, he is a fourth-year student at St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Another son, Alex, is a senior at Illinois State University.

After 10 years working as a pharmacist for SuperX, first in Peoria, then in Lincoln, Stacy opened Medicap 13 years ago at 501 Woodlawn Road. Ten years later he moved to 709 Woodlawn Road, in the process expanding the store from 800 to 1,500 square feet. The new location is not only newer and brighter but also enabled Stacy to add a patient consulting room and a compounding room. Business has increased since the move as well.

Interest in science and a desire to work with people directly led Stacy to his profession. He said personal qualities needed by a pharmacist are accuracy, strong math and science skills, and being a people person. "People are not usually feeling good when they come here," he said. "They don’t want to buy medicine, but it is something they need." He tries to make the experience as pleasant as possible while he fills the medical need.

(To be continued)

Paul Beaver, chairman of the Master Plan Committee, presented the plans for creating a videotape concerning Looking for Lincoln in Lincoln and Logan County. They expect to distribute this video, when completed, to the chambers of commerce, motels, libraries, Looking for Lincoln sites and any other sites that would be applicable. The committee will be planning locations, costumes and props. They will also need actors and any good help available. More complete plans will be announced as the committee's work progresses. Beaver was very pleased to announce that they have a script which Judge Stringer wrote in 1911 which details places and events in Logan County where Lincoln visited during his lifetime.

Shirley Bartelmay reported there was a good turnout at the training for guides at the Postville Courthouse. Thirty-seven volunteers received training and 14 are scheduled for training with Richard Schachtsiek, site manager at the Postville Courthouse. An additional training session has been scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 15, and anyone interested is invited to attend.

Wendy Bell, Main Street Lincoln program manager, reported that the Illinois Highway Department will be installing Looking for Lincoln signs along the highways this summer in order to have uniformity across the state. Wendy stated that everyone seemed very pleased with the courthouse tour. Good attendance made the evening very special, and it is expected that there will be expanded attendance next year.

Thressia Usherwood, director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau, mentioned that the Festival of Trees was successful, and it appears that it will continue to be a highlight for the next Christmas season.

Ron Keller, Lincoln College Museum curator, announced that the college has already requested the state of Illinois to install Lincoln College Museum signs along old Route 66. The signs seem to have encouraged an increase in tourists stopping at the museum.

The next Looking for Lincoln meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.

[Wendy Bell, program manager]