Business Focus: Your New Waverly Pharmacy

Photos by Libby Rogers

Not everyone puts a lot of thought into which pharmacy they will frequent. Patients may choose the pharmacy closest to home, a brand they are familiar with, or a location convenient to other errands. Perhaps a consumer has not considered exactly what he or she needs from a pharmacy.

One visit to Your New Waverly Pharmacy causes you to hold all others to a higher standard—a standard to expect MORE!

When customers walk in the door to Your New Waverly Pharmacy, located at 9320 Highway 75S in New Waverly, they are at once treated like family and seen as an individual. Offering personalized pharmaceutical care means knowing and caring about each patient, both medically and personally, and this is exactly what Bill and Debbie Wilt strived to achieve when they opened Your New Waverly Pharmacy in 2012.

Bill Wilt spent 20 years as a pharmacist, working mainly with major pharmacy chains. He came to prefer smaller, independent pharmacies over the chains because of the individualized quality of care. Bill studied both business and pharmaceuticals at Texas Tech and Texas Southern, so he decided to use his areas of expertise to open his own independent pharmacy. The Wilts were living in Spring at the time, so they started looking for the right location in the surrounding areas. Dan Underwood, Mayor of New Waverly at the time, connected them with a potential property in his community. Because a LifeCheck Pharmacy in Willis had recently gone out of business, this location in New Waverly offered the perfect opportunity to fill an opening in the pharmacy market. In November of 2012, Your New Waverly Pharmacy opened its doors.

Debbie Wilt spent 30 years as a teacher and school counselor, working at Klein ISD and Oakridge in Conroe. Retired from teaching, her plan was to help with the books and record keeping at Your New Waverly Pharmacy. Plans changed when Bill’s pharmacy tech left. Debbie has a biology degree, so she stepped up as an intern, and became certified as a pharmacy tech herself. “I’ll re-retire someday,” Debbie said with a laugh.

To set themselves apart from other pharmacies, Bill and Debbie focus heavily on customer service and customization. “The way I look at it,” explained Bill, “is that nobody wants to go to the pharmacy. But everyone has a problem they need solved. Our job is to solve that problem.

We can do things that big chain pharmacies like Walgreens and Walmart won’t do. Customers thank us because we do things like create custom capsules and dosages, and we save them money!”

“We work hard to know people by name,” added Debbie. “We know them, their family, their drug history, and allergies. If we see something that doesn’t look right, we’ll call the doctor to confirm. Because we know our patients so well, we can catch any issues before they become a problem.” Your New Waverly Pharmacy has a customer base of about 3,000 and draws people from Huntsville to Conroe. They see about 100 patients per day.

As a small town pharmacy, they also offer conveniences like less wait time and the ability to chat with the pharmacy to ask questions. “One time, one of our own kids was sick,” said Debbie. “She couldn’t keep meds down, so Bill ground her medicine into a cream so we could rub it into her skin. Another time, a patient was needing to take several different hormones and vitamins, and Bill was able to create custom capsules with just the right dosage of everything. Retail pharmacies are too busy or don’t have the space to do things like that. We work with people.”

Joe Mayrant, Your New Waverly Pharmacy patron

City Councilman and patron of Your New Waverly Pharmacy Joe Mayrant said, “I think it’s fantastic. Great service. Every community needs a place like this. We’re proud they are here and hope they stay a long time!”

Ron Wallace has been a customer of the small town pharmacy since they opened in 2012. He said, “Bill is so informative and proactive. Any questions I have, he can help me every time. He makes great recommendations. Those things are important to me.”

Your New Waverly Pharmacy employees two other techs: Roxy Guzman and Samantha Ellis-Lowrey. Both women have been with the pharmacy for one year. “All our customers here are awesome,” said Guzman. “We all know each other. It feels like home. They come in and it’s like you’re talking to your best friend.” Ellis-Lowrey agreed, and added, “I love the independent pharmacy environment. It’s more family-oriented and less about towing the company line.”

Even dogs feel at home at Your New Waverly Pharmacy! A box of Milkbones is kept at the drive-thru window for those doing errands with their furry companion. During the interview, three friendly strays came up to the pharmacy door. Debbie said, “These are community dogs! Customers actually bring us dog food here to feed them, because they know we are animal lovers. A local vet fixed them and checks up on them. The community takes care of them.”

“I think being an animal lover says a lot about somebody,” said Bill. “During job interviews, I always ask people two questions. First, I ask them what they think their job is. The answer I’m looking for isn’t sorting pills and filling requests. I want the answer to be ‘solve problems.’ That’s what we do. People bring us their problems, and it’s our job to solve them. Second, I ask if they like dogs. It’s kind of a funny question, but it tells me the heart of a person. If they care about dogs, they are warm-hearted, and they are going to care about people. That’s the kind of person I want to hire.”

Your New Waverly Pharmacy is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, and Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. They are closed on Sunday. For more information, they can be reached at 936-344-2424, or visit their website: newwaverlypharmacy.com.

9320 Highway 75S
New Waverly, TX
936-344-2424