ALDEN, NY (WKBW) — It's a tough time of uncertainty for Rite Aid customers. Earlier this month, we told you the pharmacy chain would be closing or selling New York stores as part of its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing.
Now, there’s a new, nationwide list of more than 150 stores slated to close.
According to the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) dashboard, dozens of stores will close right here in Western New York. The dashboard shows they are slated to permanently close on June 4.
One of the locations set to close is on Broadway in Alden, and I found a nearby independent pharmacy ready to step in.
“We've had a lot of patients who've come in; they've had concerns about their ability to continue getting their prescriptions filled,” said Kara Smith, supervising pharmacist at Alden Pharmacy.
The Alden Pharmacy on Broadway is about a two-minute drive from the Rite Aid.
“If you find that your Rite Aid or your pharmacy will be closing, you know, reach out to another pharmacy in your area,” explained Smith.
An employee at the Alden Rite Aid, which had several empty shelves, told me they were told the store will close, and it's very disappointing.
For Rite Aid pharmacy customers, it's a scramble.
"They have concerns about access to their medications, which we do understand, but we have assured patients that they will be able to access their prescriptions here,” described Smith.
Smith told me this is really tough for Rite Aid customers because they're being uprooted from a place that feels so comfortable, so they're working here to make it a smooth transition for them.
“They can contact their physician," Smith said. "They'll want to update their preferred pharmacy that's on file at the physician's office. They can also come into the pharmacy here. They can bring us a medication list. They can bring us their prescription bottles, and that way, we can put their information into our systems and help facilitate the transfer of their prescriptions."
Smith told me that the Alden Pharmacy continues to help Rite Aid customers and it will be looking to add more staff.
"We're going to add some hardware to our operations," Smith said. "We are going to add staffing so that we can accommodate the new influx of patients. So we're making those operational changes moving forward so that we are able to handle the higher prescription volume."
