The National Community Pharmacists Association wants to convey the value of independent pharmacies to their communities.

A new online video posted by NCPA, titled “Danny Cottrell: Independent Pharmacist and Pillar of the Community,” profiles pharmacist Danny Cottrell and his Cottrell’s Medical Center Pharmacy in Brewton, Ala., to illustrate how independent pharmacists positively impact patient care and their local area

In the video, local small-business owners and patients spotlight the personal care that Medical Center Pharmacy provides, in contrast to a big-box store, and talk about Cottrell’s service to the community.

The video also depicts how Cottrell helped Brewton, home to about 5,000 people in southern Alabama, through the Great Recession, which hit the area hard. Cottrell came up with a creative idea: a one-man, $16,000 stimulus program. He paid out in $2 bills to his employees with two conditions: They had to spend the money locally and donate 15% to charity or someone in need. The money showed up in small businesses around the community, and the campaign drew national attention from CNN, NBC Nightly News, National Public Radio and others. Cottrell was recognized as the 2009 NCPA Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year.

“It was something I was very glad that I did,” Cottrell commented. “Can I afford to do it again? I don’t know. But it was the right thing at the right time.”

The video closes by encouraging viewers to visit NCPAnet.org and find a local independent community pharmacy using the pharmacy locator tool.

“NCPA is proud to serve more than 22,000 independent community pharmacies owned and operated by caring people like Danny Cottrell,” commented NCPA chief executive officer B. Douglas Hoey. “This video will raise awareness so more people know that independent pharmacists care for both their patients and their communities in ways that go beyond their traditional role as health care providers.”