New Pharmacy Supports Downtown

Cedar Care LLC meets community needs and keeps downtown Cedarville thriving

by Madeleine Mosher

When Glenn Fawcett, owner of the hardware store on Main Street in Cedarville, died in December 2017, he had owned the store for about 18 years. Dr. Cliff Fawcett, assistant professor of nursing at Cedarville and Glenn’s brother, remembered Glenn’s connections to the community of Cedarville.

“Everyone knew who he was,” Cliff said.

Glenn was Cliff’s elder by 10 years, and Cliff said that, as a child, he believed Glenn could do anything. As an adult, Cliff felt the same way. He described Glenn’s ability to teach himself new skills, including re-covering a couch, working on cars and building houses. Glenn owned Riva Construction, and built around 50 houses in Cedarville and the surrounding area.

He owned buildings in Cedarville as well, including the one that houses Beans-n-Cream. He renovated them and took care of them because he cared about Cedarville’s downtown.

“One of the big things for [Glenn] was to make downtown a vital and thriving place,” Cliff said.

But it wasn’t just the buildings Glenn cared about — it was the people inside them.

“I had a number of people at his funeral come up to me and say, ‘You don’t know what your brother did for me, but, you know, but he really helped me out this one time, or he helped me out with this or that,’” Cliff said.

Glenn also went on missions trips and did construction projects in Africa, the Ukraine, Paraguay, Colombia and Alaska. Cliff said that it was his brother’s faith in God that motivated his actions for others.

“He kinda had this gruff exterior and if you didn’t know him you would, kind of, probably be afraid of him. But he was such a softie on the inside, he had such a heart for people and serving. I mean, it was remarkable,” Cliff said.

After Glenn died, the Fawcett family sold the hardware store to Cedar Care, LLC. Cedar Care is owned by Cedarville University, but is legally separate from it, according to Director of Pharmacy Services and Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice Jeb Ballentine. Around the same time that Glenn died, Clark’s pharmacy in Cedarville closed, and Cedar Care decided to purchase the hardware store and start a pharmacy inside the old building.

“When the other pharmacy closed in town, that left a huge gap in terms of community and care,” said Dr. Marc Sweeney, dean of the School of Pharmacy and president of the Cedar Care, LLC board.

Cedar Care will not only fill the gap left by Clark’s, but will also provide hands-on learning for graduate pharmacy students, according to Ballentine.

“We want to provide excellent, compassionate healthcare to the community,” he said.

When the pharmacy opens in December or January, it will operate as a full-fledged pharmacy. Graduate pharmacy students, who will work in the pharmacy as a part of their academic courses, will be involved in all parts of it, according to Ballentine. They will work with licensed pharmacists in filling prescriptions, administering vaccines, and carrying out medication therapy management sessions.

The pharmacy will also have a community room, where support groups for diabetes can meet. The room will be open for use by the community as well.

The pharmacy will focus on more than physical care. Ballentine emphasized the importance of caring for patients relationally, and Sweeney said that they will serve all different kinds of people with the goal of impacting their lives. He said that the pharmacy is a way to love others.

“We wanted to break down the barriers between healthcare and faith, and show how we can be the hands and feet of Christ in a pharmacy, use pharmacy as our ministry tool,” Ballentine said.

Cliff said that the Fawcett family feels pleased with the sale of the hardware building.

He said, “I think that selling the building to the university is a great move because the pharmacy is definitely needed in town … that corner is essential to the downtown thriving because it’s where 42 and 72 come together and so to have a thriving business like a pharmacy there is a just a really good thing.”

Madeleine Mosher is a sophomore journalism major and a Campus News Co-editor for Cedars. When she’s not complaining about homework or having a snack, she enjoys coffee, words, and rock ‘n’ roll.

Featured Image: “The old hardware store in Cedarville is being transformed into the new Pharmacy.” Photos by Macey Wymer.

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