Store Manager and registered pharmacist Valarie Manning said she became a pharmacist 25 years ago because she wanted to take care of people. She said working at McKinney Pharmacy Northside Medical gives her the opportunity to do just that.

McKinney Pharmacy Northside Medical is a full-service pharmacy offering citywide delivery, veterinary medications, regular prescriptions, compounding prescriptions and medical equipment. The pharmacy also shows people how to use the equipment and fits them if needed, Manning said.

When someone at the pharmacy delivers the equipment, they educate the patient on how to use it, Manning said.

“So [we offer] delivery, set up and education of the product,” she said.

While the name McKinney Pharmacy Northside Medical has only been in use for nine years, the pharmacy itself has been serving the community since at least 1907 under the name Northside Medical.

Northside Medical began with a location on the square in downtown McKinney and moved to its current location on University Drive in 1964. Until 1986 the pharmacy had two locations in McKinney but eventually closed the location downtown, said Jim Petkovsek, manager of the pharmacy’s medical equipment.

Petkovsek said when he began working at the pharmacy in 1981 everyone knew about the company and what it offered.

“There were only 20,000 people that lived here, too, but everybody knew about [the pharmacy],” he said. “... The hardest part now is with the growth, the new doctors, multiple hospitals [and the] influx of new population, people never venture to this side of town.”

Compounding is something that makes the pharmacy unique, Petkovsek said. It is the art and science of creating personalized medications, according to the Professional Compounding Centers of America. This practice requires a pharmacist to mix together the exact strength, dosage and size of the medication required by the prescriber and patient. This can range from making a pill smaller for an animal, adding flavor for a child or making the medication into a cream.

Manning said the pharmacy fills compounding prescriptions daily.

“We specialize in HRT, which is hormone replacement therapy, and we also specialize in veterinary compounding,” she said. “When I say we specialize, I mean our compounding technician is certified in those two areas.”

Petkovsek said McKinney Pharmacy has almost everything a customer would need.

“And if we don’t, I will work my hardest to find a solution for you,” he said. “I think that’s why people come here.”