Dreier Pharmacy named nation’s best

Dreier Pharmacy was recently named the nation’s best during a national conference of independent pharmacies, and now the country knows what generations of Shawano area residents have known for decades.

Of nearly 4,500 independent pharmacies across the nation that are members of Health Mart, Dreier Pharmacy earned the Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year award for 2024.

“Those businesses that satisfy the needs and wants of their customers the best, those are the ones that are going to succeed,” customer John Knickerbocker said. “Dreier Pharmacy is a model of that.”

There has been a pharmacy at the Dreier Pharmacy location, 117 S. Main St., since 1884.

“My father (Donald) purchased the pharmacy in 1967, and since that time, it has tripled in size,” said Tim Dreier, owner and pharmacist.

“My husband had a lot of vision,” co-owner Jana Dreier said. “He wanted to turn it into something special.”

Tim Dreier started working at the pharmacy in 1990. His sister, Jessica Dreier-Huntington, is also a pharmacist and co-owner.

“I just wanted to be like my dad,” she said. “He was wonderful. He had this beautiful smile, and people were just drawn to him because he was so helpful.”

Dreier Pharmacy offers free in-town prescription delivery, medication compliance packaging, email and text refill reminders, curbside pickup, home medical equipment sales and rentals, diabetes consulting, immunizations, mail services, Medicare Part D and medication reviews.

In addition to broad availability of brand and generic prescription medications, it also has private-label, over-the-counter medications, gifts and home goods, women’s clothing and accessories, bathroom aids, candy, canes and walkers, diabetic supplies, gifts and novelties, greeting cards and medical supplies.

The first and second generations of the family work at the store, and the next generation is in training.

“My mother still works here, my kids,” Tim Dreier said. “My oldest daughter is in pharmacy school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”

Daughter Avery Dreier is a student pharmacist.

“I got to grow up watching my dad and my aunt provide such great health care to the community, and I really want to be part of that family tradition and come back to serve the third generation of the greater Shawano area,” she said.

Dreier Pharmacy works closely with members of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

“As a mother with a 17-year-old who had just had a life-saving liver transplant, I was overwhelmed with the fact that, ‘How am I going to deal with all these prescriptions?’” customer Yvette Hartman-Wilbur said. “The first call I made was to Dreier Pharmacy, and they were so helpful in making me feel at ease.”

Greg Nordwig is a behavioral health nurse in Shawano County.

“Hardly a day goes by where I’m not in contact with them,” he said. “I can call anytime here with a problem and immediately get to a pharmacist.”

Customer and former Mayor Jeanne Cronce said the Dreiers have been a staple in the community for decades.

“I’m most proud of what my husband did,” Jana Dreier said. “His vision came to life.”

The 2024 Health Mart Pharmacy of the Year award was issued at the McKesson ideaShare conference in New Orleans, after a live onsite vote by pharmacy peers that were in attendance at the conference.