ENID, Okla. — Three businesses that are members of the Enid Regional Development Alliance (ERDA) have received grants totaling more than $100,000 from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce’s Oklahoma Innovation Expansion Program (OIEP).
The three businesses that received grants were Martens Machine Shop, Evans Pharmacy and Whiterock Resources.
Evans Pharmacy received a grant of $25,000.
Chief Operating Officer Kevin Blackburn said this is the pharmacy’s second year participating in the OIEP. The previous year, Evans used its grant money to expand the business enough to enter a contract with a local hospice company.
“We were able to purchase home medical equipment that would service this hospice company and allow us to have a better, expansive service to more of the rural communities here,” Blackburn said. This meant the hospice company was able to offer services to those who live further outside Enid.
“It was an expansion for western Oklahoma for hospice services that have been definitely underserved in those communities,” said Lora Whitehead, CEO and owner of Evans Pharmacy.
Whitehead said this year the grant money is going to go toward “compounding.” Compounding is when medications are mixed on-site and tailored to the individual needs of a patient.
“We are going to be doing some compounding training. We’ll be doing hormone replacement, skin care products, different compounding things that we can make medications here on site for our patients,” Whitehead said.
Blackburn said the grant will allow Evans to hire four or five full- and part-time employees to handle compounding medications. Blackburn added the grant money will make it possible for Evans to purchase medical equipment it could not have obtained otherwise.
When asked how important compounding is for a local pharmacy, Whitehead said she felt its importance is huge in that it allows doctors to source more specialized medications for patients.
“We’re also not handcuffed at that point at the speed of the manufacturer making a potential medicine or the price of the potential manufacturer,” Blackburn said. “We’re hoping this is a more cost-effective route that can be beneficial for our patients and more budget-friendly for our patients.”
Whiterock Resources received a grant of $60,000, and mentioned in a press release provided by the ERDA that it would go toward a “Dual-Phase Extraction Unit Project.”
Martens Machine Shop received a grant of $30,000. This is the fourth year it has participated in the OIEP. According to a press release released by the ERDA, Martens was able to purchase a Climax Line Boring Machine thanks to the grant. Owner Jake Martens expressed gratitude towardsERDA in the press release, calling the organization a “valued partner.”
Whitehead and Blackburn echoed the sentiment, saying ERDA was “monumental” in helping them receive the grant.
Blackburn said ERDA helped Evans Pharmacy figure out the best way to present what they needed to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
“The first hurdle we had last year was them realizing that we aren’t turning around and selling this equipment,” Blackburn said. “We are essentially leasing this equipment out, and then they’re bringing it back.”
Blackburn said Evans Pharmacy prides itself on being “Enid people, helping Enid people.”
“That applies to our whole Northwest Oklahoma community,” Blackburn said.
