A longtime South Whidbey pharmacist struggling with industry changes is considering a prescription for corporate ownership.

Ron Lind of Saratoga Enterprises Inc. confirmed this week that change may be in the wind for the decades-old island pharmacy. Insurance companies and mail-order houses are increasingly sources of competition, and Lind is considering selling portions of the business to a national or Washington-based chain.

“Nothing has happened yet,” Lind said. “They are inquiring and we’re hearing what they have to say.”

Interested corporations include Walgreens with about 8,200 stores nationwide, CVS with about 7,600 locations, Rite Aid with about 4,600 stores, and Bartell Drugs, a state chain with about 60 locations throughout the Puget Sound area.

Saratoga Enterprises encompasses Lind’s Coupeville Pharmacy, Lind’s Freeland Pharmacy and Lind’s Jewelry, which is also located in Freeland.

Any potential sale would likely include the pharmacy and drug portion of the store in Freeland only. The Coupeville location is probably too small to warrant interest from a national chain, Lind said.

Rumors that the entire business had sold or was closing have run rampant through the South End for more than a week. Lind said any deal is still at least two months out, and that he hadn’t planned to make an announcement until there was something substantial to report. There simply isn’t much to tell yet, he said.

“What I can say is if something does happen, all our employees would be taken care of,” Lind said. “Number two, Lind’s will continue to exist.”

The Freeland pharmacy might have a different name, but Lind’s Jewelry, the gift, retail, Whidbey artists cards and clothing element of the store would remain.

“It just won’t be Lind’s Pharmacy in Freeland,” Lind said.

Lind and his wife, Pam, opened their first location in Langley about 40 years ago. They lived for years above the pharmacy and store with their children. The business included a retail/gift element.

The company footprint would later grow to include locations in Freeland and Coupeville. Lind’s Jewelry, a separate business, is located within the Freeland store.

Saratoga Enterprises today is owned by multiple people, but Lind and his wife control the majority shares. The company currently employs about 55 people.

Chet Ross, president of the Freeland Chamber of Commerce, said he was aware of the potential sale, calling it “the biggest secret on the street,” in reference to the rumors floating around the community. Ross said any potential sale would be bitter-sweet, as corporate backing adds a measure of stability but at the price of local ownership.

“Sometimes when a large corporate entity takes over, a personal touch is lost,” Ross said.

“If anyone had a problem, Ron was always available,” he added.

Lind’s success over the decades was in part from being a local business, with known and trusted owners, he said. But the pharmacy industry has changed in recent decades, particularly for independent owners. Lind’s Langley store closed in 2009 for some of the same reasons it’s considering a sale to a national chain today — lowered reimbursements from insurance companies and competition from mail-order houses.

Lind declined to delve into details, such as whether the alternative to selling is closure, but did say the market conditions are a problem facing all independent pharmacists, and that corporate ownership would allow him and his wife to take a step back but remain involved in the business they created.

“This will take off some of the burden of ownership,” Lind said.

John Norton, spokesman for the National Community Pharmacists Association, confirmed that the financial pressures from lower reimbursements and mail-order houses are common hurdles for the approximately 23,000 independent owners across the country. That number has remained flat for about 10 years, which means the business model is still successful, but it’s still a financial headache.

“To some people, the changes have been pretty brutal,” Norton said.

Along with pinching reimbursements, mail-order houses are significant sources of competition for private pharmacists. Usually owned by insurance companies, in some cases they offer cheaper pharmaceuticals to consumers and in others “preferred pharmacy plans” exclude reimbursements to all but national chains.

“They try to cut us out,” said Norton, adding that it’s unfair competition.

Aaron Syring, owner of Island Drug in Clinton, Oak Harbor and LaConner, agrees that the industry has become an uneven playing field.

Due to his North Whidbey location’s proximity to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, he often grapples with Tricare, which has built-in financial incentives that send patients to mail-order houses.

“It’s a federal government plan that’s punishing local businesses,” Syring said.

“It’s pretty staggering,” he said.

According to Lind, being part of a bigger chain will help alleviate some of those financial hurdles, but the price tag of corporate ownership may not be as big as some fear. What makes a community-oriented and local pharmacist is the people, and he believes they won’t be going anywhere.

“The last thing that they’ll want is a different name above the door, or for someone to walk in and see another face at the counter … they want those employees,” he said.

Also, a successful deal could mean a limited return to Langley. When the store closed, the Linds’ promised to come back if finances or the market allowed, and this could allow them to reopen the retail side of the old store. A pharmacy would not be included.

Lind added that it would be nice to remain totally independent, but corporate ownership appears like the right step. His personal preference would be to have the world served by small-town, community-oriented pharmacists, “but that isn’t today’s financial reality,” he said.

Company employees were informed the pharmacy may be sold, and a formal announcement will be made once a deal is hammered out.