Lansford once again has an in-town pharmacy.

Panther Family Pharmacy, a locally owned business, held a ribbon-cutting last week at 28 W. Ridge St. (Panther Valley Mini Mall).

The pharmacy opening comes just a few months after Rite Aid, which previously had been Lansford’s only drugstore, closed its doors. That forced residents of the community to drive several miles to get prescriptions filled.

Ted Dacey, a lifelong Panther Valley resident and a former pharmacist at Rite Aid, opened the new business just down the hall from Valley Athletic Supply. He has 30 years of experience as a pharmacist.

“I opened it to accommodate the people of the Panther Valley area,” he said.

The new pharmacy has an automatic refill program, fast prescription transfers, free home delivery, provides prescriptions in just minutes, accepts manufacturer coupons and, Dacey said, “has the best cash prices in town.”

It also provides prior authorization assistance and other related services.

Kimberly Lord, business manager for Panther Family Pharmacy, said soon to be available will be immunizations and bubble packaging, which sorts the prescriptions for customers for daily usage.

She said also available is a large assortment of over-the-counter medications.

The pharmacy is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.

Dacey said he began his career as a pharmacist in Rite Aid 30 years ago. He also was the pharmacist “to work the very last shift at that Lansford Rite Aid,” he said.

“The closing of Rite Aid at the end of summer has created a hardship on the local communities,” Dacey said. “Rite Aid was the pharmacy of choice for many folks in the Lansford, Summit Hill, Coaldale and Nesquehoning areas.”

“As an independent pharmacy, we build strong relationships with our patients, which allows us to provide better personalized care closer to home.”

He said the mission of the pharmacy is “to provide safe, reliable and personalized care for individuals of all ages, helping them achieve better health and well-being.”

Present for the ribbon-cutting were Dacey’s daughters, Olivia Dacey, Emma Dacey and Christina Danchak.

The pharmacy employs seven people, including Olivia.

Also present were Carbon County Commissioner Michael Sofranko; Brad Hurley, who represented the office of state Sen. David Argall; Marguerite Green, who represented state Rep. Doyle Heffley; and Bob Silver, representative of Lansford Alive. Two representatives of the Carbon Chamber & Economic Development Corporation also attended: Kylie Adams-Weiss, senior vice president; and Emily Sewilo, project coordinator.

Sofranko said that several years ago, the trend with chains like Rite Aid was to purchase independent pharmacies.

“The box store left,” he said. He termed Dacey “the guy who really cares, who stays here.”

Green said, “So many of our constituents were just devastated” when Rite Aid closed its store in Lansford. “They didn’t have a way to get to Nesquehoning or other towns for their prescriptions.”

Silver said he appreciates that Dacey opened the new business.

“Our residents deserve it, and you made it happen,” Silver said.

Dacey gave special praise to his parents, Ted and Mai Ling Dacey.

“My dad was a local police officer, and when not on duty he was out working hard doing blacktop and concrete to get me through Duquesne University and where I am today,” Dacey said.

The Panther Family Pharmacy can be reached at 570-507-8792 or 570-487-3520.