Drexel, Missouri
Population: 1,088
Marc Finke (pharm.D. ’98)
Pharmacist
The trusted advisor
Finke was raised in the small community of Richmond, Mo., and learned early on about the importance of close-knit personal relationships and trust between people. That’s what pulled Finke back to his small-town roots after serving as the Missouri-Kansas pharmacy operations director for a large national department store chain. In 2007, he bought Drexel Pharmacy, which for more than a century has been one of the foundations of the community.
Getting neighborly: “It’s just that feeling of community—everybody knows everybody else and everybody is pulling in the same direction. In Kansas City working for a large chain, I didn’t know my patients very well. I didn’t have that sense of knowing where that person lives and seeing that person on a consistent basis.”
Intimate and impactful: “Often I’m the primary person who sees the patient before he or she sees the doctor. A lot of people in rural areas either don’t have a primary care doctor, or you’re the point person who tells them whether a condition can be treated over the counter or needs to be seen by a physician.”
It’s a different world: He likes to take in the city’s amenities—in measured doses. “The cities do have their attractions, whether shopping or recreation and sports venues. Everybody that lives and works in Drexel recognizes that there is value there, but there is also value in the slower lifestyle and picking and choosing when you go the city for those things.”