Rooted in the Community Since 1967
In 1967, East Palo Alto residents — in connection with the radical political movements and the expansion of Great Society programs — organized the East Palo Alto–Menlo Park Neighborhood Health Center. The center provided community-focused access to doctors and health advice, including counseling on sickle cell anemia, and operated a pharmacy from day one.
Within two years, the center had incorporated as a nonprofit, tapped into federal funding, and moved to its current location on University Avenue. The foundation overseeing the center's services was eventually renamed in honor of Dr. Charles R. Drew, the pioneering Black surgeon who made modern blood transfusion possible.
Drew Center Pharmacy was formally established in 1974 as part of the Charles R. Drew Medical-Dental Center, a federally sponsored Community Health Center. The pharmacy quickly became the healthcare anchor for a community base that would grow to over 10,000 patients in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park.
In 1983, when the Drew Health Foundation restructured, the pharmacy was separated as an independent entity. Dr. Arthur H. Lim, Pharm.D. became the sole Director and Pharmacist-in-Charge — and has remained so for over 40 years.
Community-organized health clinic opens on Bay Road, providing access to doctors, health education, and a pharmacy.
The pharmacy formally opens as part of the Charles R. Drew Medical-Dental Center, a federally sponsored Community Health Center in East Palo Alto.
Drew Center Pharmacy becomes an independently owned community retail pharmacy under the ownership of Dr. Arthur H. Lim, Pharm.D.
One of the last independent community pharmacies on the Peninsula, still at 2242 University Avenue, still under the same caring leadership.
Dr. Arthur H. Lim, Pharm.D.
Dr. Arthur H. Lim has been the Director-Owner and sole Pharmacist-in-Charge of Drew Center Pharmacy since 1983 — over 40 years of direct, personal service to the East Palo Alto community.
Known throughout the neighborhood simply as Dr. Art, he has built the pharmacy into a full-service community institution that goes far beyond filling prescriptions. Under his leadership, Drew Center Pharmacy has expanded to offer medical supplies, gifts and jewelry, utility payment services, copying and photo services, free local delivery, and more.
Dr. Lim has also brought his expertise to a broader audience through the Ask a Pharmacist podcast series, addressing medication guidance, community health, and the real healthcare questions that East Palo Alto residents face.
He is available Monday through Friday at the pharmacy for personal consultations, medication questions, and prescription reviews.
Dr. Art Lim's community podcast series covers medications, community health, and East Palo Alto.
Our Commitment to the Community
Drew Center Pharmacy is a full-service Retail Community Pharmacy, open to the public, with a deep emphasis on multi-cultural communication and understanding — because we believe healthcare works best when your pharmacist speaks your language, knows your family, and understands your community.
We serve East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and the greater Bay Area — a diverse, multilingual community that includes Spanish, Tongan, Samoan, and Filipino speakers — and we are committed to ensuring that every patient has access to the information and care they need.
Our mission is simple: to strive to understand your family's health needs, provide the level of professional care the community deserves, and support and improve the quality of family living in our neighborhood. Help Drew help you.