Mona Finley realized her strengths in science and math at an early age and enrolled at the DeBakey High School for Health Professions in the Texas Medical Center. From there, Finley went on to graduate from the University of Houston's College of Pharmacy in 1987.

"I had a passion for science, math and people," Finley said. "That combination is what gave me the inspiration to go into pharmacy. After practicing in different areas of pharmacy, I saw a need for personalized service."

On Nov. 1, 1994, Finley opened her own pharmacy in the now vacant professional building along Glenn Lakes Lane in Missouri City. After five years, she decided to build her own freestanding location and began to offer new services.

"I worked in retail, hospital and home health, and that's what gave me the idea to put them together," Finley said. "When we started, we offered pharmacy services, which included sterile and nonsterile compounding. Then the other services just evolved."

Today—after 20 years—Finley's store is divided into three departments: pharmacy services, a gift shop and an old-fashioned soda fountain.

"I wanted to bring back the old-fashioned pharmacy concept to the area," she said. "We have two concepts—healthy and nostalgic."

As her business continued to grow, Finley expanded her location in 2002 and altered her gift shop to feature home decor such as wall art, furniture, antiques and other items. Finley orders her items seasonally from national vendors at gift markets in Atlanta and New York.

"We saw a demand to expand," Finley said. "In our soda fountain, we started with homemade ice cream, smoothies and juicing. People would come in and say, 'I remember soda fountains. What about the sandwiches and salads?' So we added those items."

The multidepartmental store offers a full range of health and well-being products but also provides a more distinctive service: pharmaceutical compounding.

"Compounding is my passion," Finley said. "I like solving issues when doctors call and need a solution or specialty product. I enjoy solving problems and taking on different challenges. I hope to expand on compounding and take on more challenges and opportunities."

A compounding pharmacy

Although compounding pharmacies have been around for many years, there has been a recent surge in more locations offering the services, said Mona Finley, owner of Glenn Lakes Pharmacy in Missouri City.

At the basic level, pharmaceutical compounding involves combining two or more drugs to create a new medication. The need for compounding can include limiting dosage for infants and toddlers, avoiding certain allergens and adjusting medications to be more suitable for people or animals.

Finley's compounding pharmacy specializes in a variety of services, including creating dermatological creams, medical powders, pills and gels. She creates both sterile—medications injected directly—and nonsterile items. In addition, the pharmacy can create veterinarian medications.

"We can create items that may not be commercially available," Finley said.

3640 Glenn Lakes Lane

Missouri City 281-261-8278

Hours: Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

Closed Saturdays and Sundays