Experiencing rapid growth of its direct-to-consumer medication delivery service, Quad Cities-based pharmacy startup divvyDOSE is expanding its footprint and economic impact in the bi-state region.
After being acquired by UnitedHealth Group last fall, the healthcare tech company headquartered in Moline, Ill., is adding 200-300 jobs in the area and moving its front-end operations to two floors of Mississippi Plaza in downtown Davenport, Iowa. divvyDOSE’s back-end operations, mainly the dispensing and packaging of medication, will remain at the business’s facility off John Deere Road in Moline. Company leadership announced the news Friday to their 300-plus employees, about 230 of whom work in the Quad Cities.
“divvyDOSE is proud of what we have accomplished in the Quad Cities,” said Luke Lonergan, COO at divvyDOSE and a Quad Cities native. “We look forward to what our expanding footprint in both Moline and Davenport will mean for the consumers we are proud to serve.
Quad Cities Chamber staff, in partnership with the City of Davenport, worked with divvyDOSE’s site selector and the owner of Mississippi Plaza to identify and secure Class A office space for the company’s expansion.
“It has been great fun for me to see this company scale and expand so quickly,” said Julie Forsythe, Senior Vice President of Business & Economic Growth at the Chamber. “The Chamber, along with our municipal partners, has been an advocate for divvyDOSE and provided support along the way at various junctures. I’m thrilled with their success and the variety of great jobs available to our community with this expansion. Since COVID-19, we know that a number of folks have become unemployed, and this could be a great opportunity for them to get back to work.”
Added Bruce Berger, Director of Community & Economic Development for the City of Davenport: “We are excited to welcome divvyDOSE to downtown Davenport. Their expansion in the Quad Cities, and Davenport in particular, continues to reflect that we are an ideal place for companies to grow their business. We look forward to this project adding to our robust and vibrant downtown.”
divvyDOSE recently hosted a virtual job fair to recruit people for its open positions in enrollment, insurance and customer service, all of which offer competitive wages, benefits and opportunities to grow, said Jana Klauke, Vice President of People and Culture at divvyDOSE.
Job duties for these employees include data entry, insurance billing, communicating with doctors’ offices and of course, talking directly with customers and answering any questions they may have. Citing the great talent pool developed by the region’s higher education institutions, Klauke said her team is also excited to continue hiring graduates from area colleges and universities.
Founded and led by a local physician in 2015, divvyDOSE developed a new service model in the pharmaceutical industry by delivering medication sorted in individual packages clearly marked with the date and time the patient should take it. The company provides these essential goods and services to thousands of people each month, Klauke said, and those struggling to manage their medication are among those with the greatest need for divvyDOSE’s assistance.
“We aren’t asking anyone at home to be a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician,” Klauke said. “We have the technology and the resources to do the work for them to make sure they are taking their medication correctly and on time.”
divvyDOSE’s employees at its downtown Davenport location, across the street from the Figge Art Museum, will benefit from Mississippi River views and easy access to the district’s growing number of dining, shopping, entertainment and housing options.
“We are proud to call divvyDose an anchor office tenant of downtown Davenport,” said Kyle Carter, Executive Director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership, an affiliate of the Chamber. “This is exactly the kind of growing entrepreneurial company we seek to attract via our new master plan, and we're excited to see their workforce enjoy the benefits of our walkable, amenity-rich downtown. We're thrilled to call them part of the family, and we appreciate divvyDose's leadership and commitment to the Quad Cities by building their growing business in the heart of our region.”