NeighborCare.

Established 1980

Seven East Lee Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

Phone: [phone]

NeighborCare(R) began as a single professional pharmacy in 1980, but the company's lineage can be traced back to 1954. The entrepreneurs who remain with NeighborCare have been providing products and services to the long-term care industry for more than 40 years.

NeighborCare has a45-year history that resembles a family tree, based on the acquisition of many related companies. In 1954, Milton Moskowitz and Murray Polonsky founded Accredited Surgical Company (ASCO) and opened a community drugstore in Baltimore, Maryland. Back then a person could step into an ASCO drugstore and walk out with a wheelchair for $50. In the 1960s, ASCO introduced the Uni-Dose ("Bingo Card") drug distribution system, which was manufactured and distributed nationally. The company's focus remained the delivery of pharmacy services and related medical supply products to long-term care facilities and the community.

Other companies later acquired for the NeighborCare family include Woodhaven Pharmacy, founded in 1954 by Mayer Handelman; Drug Lane Pharmacy, founded in 1962 by Marvin Freedenberg and Morris Rosenberg; Scotchwood Pharmacy, founded in 1962 by Robert Horowitz; Genesis Health Ventures (GHV), which acquired Drug Lane in 1988; Delta Drug and Eastern Medical, acquired in 1995; and Vitalink, acquired in 1998. Michael Bronfein and Stanton Ades founded NeighborCare in 1980. However, it wasn't until 1996 that NeighborCare merged with GHV to become a wholly owned subsidiary and ASCO HealthCare changed its name to NeighborCare.

NeighborCare pioneers such as Marvin Freedenberg, Milton Moskowitz, Mayer Handelman and Morris Rosenberg continue to offer their collective expertise from many years in the long-term care industry. Their dedication has contributed to the growth of the consultant pharmacy practice, developments in medication delivery systems, computer applications, customized medical records and IV therapy.

In order to improve long-term care, NeighborCare's focus is to raise industry standards through superior customer service, innovative programming, education, leadership and experience. NeighborCare's QUEST program helps customers direct care through utilization management. Also, the company's "Partnership Through Education" program offers a multimedia lending library, a wellness library, various training programs for caregivers and families, regional "Plan for the Future" professional seminars and other tools to help their customers succeed in today's competitive market.

NeighborCare also actively supports all related professional and industry organizations. Its staff publishes and presents nationally on such issues as the MDS and the new clinically based survey. On the local and regional levels, NeighborCare Associates serve on committees and hold offices in many organizations. On the national front, the company has organized support for the Hatch Bill to help restore Medicare funding.

NeighborCare sees three important issues for the future of long-term care: 1) integrated service delivery to increase efficiency in the transition of care from the acute care setting or the home; 2) technology, which increases the educational needs of customers; 3) a challenge to healthcare providers to look more closely when evaluating "cost" vs. price in making decisions on care and the products used.

NeighborCare would like future historians to note that the company adapts its services to the needs of people and not to its own preferences. The company would like to be remembered by its own Golden Rule: Care about people as customers but, more importantly, as neighbors.