Retired machinist Ernest Harris doesn't have to travel far to get a prescription filled.
A CVS Pharmacy at Woodland Crossing shopping center is a few blocks away from his house on the Elkhart's south side. The Kroger store located at that plaza has a pharmacy as well.
Later this year, a Walgreens drug store will add to the mix, opening across the street from there.
"If you're old and have a lot of medications, it's an embarrassment of riches," 74-year-old Harris said of the trifecta of pharmacies close to home.
In fact, his corner of Elkhart County isn't alone in the drug store boom. Gearing up for a surge in the aging population, pharmacies have expanded their presence locally in the past year.
Walgreens is a case in point.
The retailer opened a larger store at Cassopolis and Bristol streets last year to replace its existing store at that intersection on Elkhart's north side.
At the moment, two other Walgreens stores are under construction in the city and set to open this year. One is at Hively Avenue and Prairie Street, near Woodland Crossing; and the other is at C.R. 4 and Cassopolis Street.
In Dunlap, Walgreens is building a store along County Home Road. A new store also is under way in Goshen, near Lincolnway East and College Avenue.
All told, the Verizon phone book lists 11 CVS or Walgreens pharmacies and more than a dozen others at supermarkets and other retailers.
"It really must be the market that is driving all the new stores," said Eric Trotter, a planner for the city of Elkhart.
Carol Hively, a spokeswoman for Walgreens, said the company's growth in Elkhart County is linked to its expansion across the country. The retailer is in the midst of opening more than 500 new stores nationwide.
"Much of that is really due to the aging of the baby boomers," she said. "That's something that's going on in pharmacy in general. People are living into their 90s, and they need services."
Members of the baby boomer generation were born between 1946 and 1964. The oldest among them will turn 65 in 2011.
By 2030, about a quarter of the U.S. population will be 65 or older, compared with about 17 percent today, according to government estimates.
Statistics show that older Americans spend a disproportionate amount of money on prescription drugs, so pharmacies are counting on earning a great deal of business in the coming years.
Harris, the Elkhart retiree, said he's already doing his part to boost their sales.
He takes medication to control high blood pressure and diabetes. Harris, who is enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug program, said he pays about $150 a month.
He doesn't always enjoy taking the pills and insulin, he said, but he appreciates the comfort of knowing that the medications are easily accessible from the nearby pharmacies.
"I don't have to take a lot of time out of my day to pick up the medicine I need. I can drive to get it in two minutes," Harris said. "If all else fails, I can walk and get it."