A new 41,000-square-foot pharmacy tucked into a Jeffersontown industrial park is now filling most of Norton Healthcare's retail prescriptions using robots and conveyor belts, part of a nearly $30 million investment the health system says will free up pharmacists at its hospitals to focus on preparing admitted patients for safe discharge. Norton Pharmacy - Blankenbaker officially opened on July 20, and the health system held a ribbon cutting at the facility on Thursday.
The facility sits at 2701 Chestnut Station Court, less than a mile from Norton Children's future 150-acre pediatric campus in Jeffersontown, and opened with 30 employees, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. Norton Healthcare acquired the property in July 2025. It uses automated dispensing robots and automated conveyor systems to prepare most retail prescriptions at a single location, and the site can fill 7,000 prescriptions in an eight-hour shift, preparing thousands of prescriptions daily.
The facility uses automation in prescription fulfillment, and the pharmacy also functions as a retail location in addition to its centralized fulfillment role.
A First for Free Home Delivery
Norton Healthcare now offers free home delivery for prescriptions, something the system says it has never provided before. Amanda Castle, system vice president of pharmacy services at Norton Healthcare, said free home delivery is a first for the health system, and patients can arrange it through the Norton MyChart digital portal, which lets users across Kentucky and Indiana manage refills and track deliveries online.
“Home delivery provides convenience and access for patients across the region,” said Vanta Lewis. Norton Healthcare delivers prescriptions across Kentucky and Indiana, and the company says shifting routine prescription fulfillment to the Blankenbaker hub frees hospital-based pharmacy staff to focus more on preparing admitted patients for safe discharge, according to Becker's Hospital Review. That shift is meant to let pharmacists spend more time preparing admitted patients for safe discharge.
Growth Plans and Regional Scale
Russell Cox is president and CEO of Norton Healthcare. Amanda Castle is system vice president of pharmacy services at Norton Healthcare.
The Blankenbaker hub isn't happening in isolation. Norton's centralization push mirrors a broader trend among Louisville health systems: rival Baptist Health opened its own centralized pharmacy services center in 2024 with the capacity to fill up to 14,000 prescriptions per 10-hour shift, per Becker's Hospital Review. The project is part of Norton's broader capital investment in the region.
Norton Healthcare now ranks as the Louisville area's second-largest private employer, with more than 23,000 workers spread across nine hospitals and over 400 care sites in Kentucky and Southern Indiana, according to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. ProPublica lists a December 2024 filing for parent entity Norton Healthcare Inc.
Part of a Larger Jeffersontown Push
The pharmacy hub's location isn't a coincidence. It sits close to Norton's planned 150-acre pediatric campus in Jeffersontown, first announced in June 2025, which will house Kentucky's second dedicated children's hospital along with behavioral and mental health care, expanded specialty clinics and research facilities, according to Norton Children's. The Norton Children's network is also part of Norton's broader pediatric expansion.
The project also follows a pattern of major capital investment for the health system, which completed a $90 million, 90,000-square-foot hospital on West Louisville's Goodwill Opportunity Campus in November 2024 — the area's first new hospital built west of Ninth Street in over 150 years, according to Cherry Bekaert. Hoodline previously covered affordable housing rising nearby that project. Public records show Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government published a notice in June regarding proposed revenue bonds, including up to $35 million in bond proceeds designated for the Norton Central Fill Pharmacy at the Chestnut Station Court address, per Louisville Metro Government.
