North Village Pharmacy – 50 years of Philanthropy, Pharmacy, and Public Service
North Village Pharmacy located in Yanceyville. By Sara Coates
“Pharmacy is all I know,” stated Vernon Masengill, owner of North Village Pharmacy in Yanceyville. After living in and serving the area for most of his life, Vernon and his team are gearing up to celebrate the pharmacy’s 50th anniversary in a few months by reflecting on their journey to this point.
While he can’t speak for the others, Vernon knew early on that this was what he wanted in life. He worked at Yanceyville Drug Company during high school and went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to earn a degree in pharmacy. Vernon’s love for the people in his community, their kindness, and especially their willingness to help in times of need is what brought him back home. “Those are the principles we started the business on years ago,” he said.
Jan. 26, 1976 – Vernon remembers the exact day he opened for business. With just two employees, himself and his partner, Sylvia Williamson, it was truly a “work of heart” from the start. Things went so well that Sylvia stuck with Vernon for 46 years, until she passed from Covid in 2022. Now, there are 26 employees at North Village Pharmacy, including four full-time and one part-time pharmacists.
While the community is like family to them, the workplace is literally family for Vernon. One of his daughters, Melissa Jones, serves as a pharmacist. His other daughter, Tonya Miller, picks out and handles all of the decorations and trinkets that welcome customers when walking through the door. Tonya’s husband, Trey Miller, is a pharmacist, too. “We all just genuinely enjoy working and helping people,” Vernon said.
That generational care for people, drive to help them feel better, and the unique ways in which Vernon’s team does so are what set North Village Pharmacy apart. From pioneering the way medications could be packaged to providing practically around-the-clock care, there’s an attention to detail here that can’t be found at larger chains.
These unique approaches to medicine really took off nearly 25 years ago, when a psychiatrist reached out to Vernon about her difficulties with medication compliance for patients struggling with their mental health. They began working together and came up with a solution for packaging medicine in a way that made it easier for these individuals. After their partnership, her patients experienced a 60 percent decrease in hospitalizations.
Since then, the pharmacy has been able to provide these services to others, including patients in assisted living and family care homes, as well as those who have caregivers. They are also involved in a new program that assists patients through Medicare at home.
Another helpful service the pharmacy offers is automatic refills. With patient permission, Vernon and his team will go ahead and complete these orders before being asked and send individuals a text or give them a call when they’re ready. The pharmacy also provides an array of immunizations. Vernon’s team is so committed that they are not only willing to deliver prescriptions to those in need, but also to go out of their way to provide vaccines to those who may not be able to come in and get them.
Beyond becoming a pharmacist, Vernon also knew early on that he wanted to own his own business. “I wanted the ability to treat people how I wanted them to be treated,” Vernon explained, and he is proud to employ people who feel the same way. “Unfortunately, customer service seems to be a thing of the past in most places, but not at North Village Pharmacy,” he insisted. Vernon credits a former mentor at Tar Heel Drug, the late George Dillard, for teaching him “more than school ever did,” but specifically that “money isn’t everything in this profession.” It’s the people and the connections that matter to him.
Most patients around town have Vernon’s personal cell phone number, and if they don’t, all they have to do is ask for it. There have been several times when Vernon got up and drove to the pharmacy in the middle of the night for customers who were “fresh out of the hospital.” He even works with hospice and is committed to getting patients what they need, no matter what time it is. “I won’t let them suffer,” he said, “their need for comfort and my need for sleep can’t compare.”
Vernon recalls a time he served a young patient in Chapel Hill. “The first day I went in, I asked the mom if I could speak to him alone.” Vernon explained how he intentionally kept the corner of an M&M’s bag poking out of his pocket. “We made a deal that if he would take the shot he needed daily, I would come back to collect his 30 empty containers, in 30 days, and repay him with the M&M’s,” he said. “When 30 days passed, he only had 26 empties, so I kept the candy.”
After 30 more days, Vernon’s tactics were successful. “This went on for about three to five years until the family moved away, but he had really grown a lot and learned an important lesson,” Vernon beamed with pride, “and I was able to do a good deed without making money since I was spending it all on M&M’s, Happy Meals, and the drive back and forth every month,” he laughed. Little moments like this are a true testament to Vernon’s love of service.
When the white coat comes off, Vernon can still be found around town going above and beyond. Back in 1980, he decided to volunteer with the local fire department as a way to spend time with friends and do good all at once. In 1985, Vernon was promoted to chief. Since the start, he’s responded to nearly 700 calls. In addition to this, he’s been the county’s fire marshall for several years. In this role, he is responsible for investigating the cause and origin of fires in the area.
Before this, Vernon was responsible for founding, and eventually becoming president of, Caswell Family Medical Center, Inc. This came about in the late 1970s when many were concerned about the future of affordable healthcare in the county. This drove Vernon to gather a group and head to Washington, DC to see what could be done. That’s when this Federally Qualified Health Center was born. Over the years, numerous grants have helped expand the reach and realm of service. During the pandemic, the center went through a corporate rebranding to become Compassion Health Care, Inc.
Although this journey has been a dream come true for Vernon, the fate of North Village Pharmacy lies in the hands of someone else: insurance companies, specifically pharmacy benefit managers, that have seemingly lost sight of healing, thus causing more harm than good. “They tell us what they’ll pay us,” which Vernon explained is why pharmacies are shutting down. Over the past two years, North Carolina has seen 32 independent pharmacies permanently close their doors. While local businesses arguably have the most to lose, chains are at risk of coming to an end, too. “If Congress doesn’t do something about predatory pricing, there are going to be pharmacy deserts in rural areas,” he said, which won’t do anyone any good.
Vernon admits that his biggest challenge in today’s world is wondering what his legacy will look like next year. “We’ve got plenty of hopes,” he said, “but unfortunately, they’re dependent on the political atmosphere.” Right now, most pharmacists aren’t allowed to practice to the height of their ability, again, due to Congress. “It’s a lot like when nurse practitioners wanted more authority,” Vernon said, “people were nervous to give them that, but look at them now.”
North Village Pharmacy is lucky to have a collaborative practice agreement with Compassion Health Care, Inc., which recognizes Melissa as a clinical community pharmacist. This allows her to do things like schedule appointments with patients, write prescriptions for them, and manage their needs. If Congress would expand this practice, it could give new meaning to local pharmacies fighting to prove their worth.
“The [Covid-19] pandemic proved that we [as pharmacists] were able to test and treat people successfully, so hopefully they will recognize this.” Referring to a common misconception about pharmacists, he quipped, “people need to realize we can do a lot more than count, stick, and lick.”
If given the opportunity to go back and do anything differently in the last 50 years, Vernon said he wouldn’t. “I think I’ve done what I set out to do – giving what’s needed, not at my convenience,” he said, which is the mindset that has kept him, and this town, going through the years. The impact Vernon has had on people, and the love they share for him, is evident by the constant sound of a swinging door, feet pattering throughout, and the echoes of conversations picking up where they left off last. “I don’t do this for anything other than the fact that we’re supposed to.” Vernon concluded, “humans were put here to take care of other humans, and sometimes that’s all you need.”
1493 Main Street
Yanceyville, NC 27379
(336) 694-4104
www.NorthVillagePharmacy.com
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