RACINE – One of the city’s last independent pharmacies, Lakeview Pharmacy, 518 Monument
Square, is under new ownership.
Megan Haapnen, Lakeview’s lead pharmacist in charge, has purchased the business from Pete
Ciarmita. Ciarmita and his late wife, Lynne, founded the pharmacy in 1974.
Before joining Lakeview Pharmacy 12 years ago, Haapnen earned a Doctor of Pharmacy
degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and completed a pharmacy practice
residency at Shawnee-Mission Medical Center in Kansas. During her pharmaceutical career,
she has practiced in a variety of community pharmacy settings and specialized in
anticoagulation therapy management.
“Megan was paramount during a challenging time for my family,” Ciaramita said in a news
release. “I trusted her judgment, and the team confided in her lead, which made it easy to take
the time away to care for my late wife, Lynne. I was able to enjoy spending time with Lynne
while Megan carried out the ever-demanding, day-to-day operations, as well as meet the unique
needs of all our loyal customers. During the uncertainty of today’s pandemic, Megan adapts to
ever-changing healthcare policies and pushes hard to constantly improve the convenience and
quality of care for her patients.”
Haapanen plans to continue offering the same long-standing Lakeview programs, including
their rewards and free antibiotics programs, as well as their Neighborhood Kids Club which
offers free vitamins to children ages 4–12. She eventually plans to expand their product
offerings and has the vision to grow Lakeview’s MedSync program, which provides automatic refill
services and free home delivery each month for recurring prescriptions.
“National pharmacy corporations have expressed interest to purchase Lakeview Pharmacy for a
long time, but my goal has always been to keep Lakeview out of their hands,” said Ciaramita. “I
couldn’t be more proud that I am able to sell the store to Megan. She has been an extraordinary
employee since joining our team twelve years ago, and she has demonstrated exceptional
leadership serving as our managing pharmacist during the past five years.”
