Pharmacist Shortage Hits Randolph Hard

Pharmacist Shortage Hits Randolph Hard By the Herald Staff

The Rite-Aid store in Randolph, home of the town's only pharmacy. (Herald / Tim Calabro)

A statewide shortage of pharmacists has created a quiet health care crisis in the Randolph area during the last two months, as customers, more and more frequently, find the pharmacy counter closed at Rite-Aid, Randolph’s only pharmacy.

Last Friday, for instance, when Kathryn Schenkman of Rochester called the store to refill a prescription, she was told that the pharmacy would be closed all day.

On Monday of the same week, a Herald staffer, attempting to fill a new prescription for a raging cough, went to Rite-Aid after the physician’s appointment, only to find the pharmacy closed from 4-8 p.m.

The next day, Tuesday, a sign indicated the pharmacy would be closed from 5 to 8.

Schenkman said she was outraged and astonished to find the pharmacy closed. Besides being a frustrated customer, she also is a case manager and senior advocate for the Central Vermont Council on Aging, and she says this is a big problem for her clients.

"If a senior is out of critically-needed medications and the local pharmacy is closed, then they either have to go without—which could have life-threatening consequences—or drive a long way to get medication or find a friend to drive," Shenkman said.

She also noted that on the same day, the Rite-Aid pharmacy in Bethel was said to be open; but for "several hours" she found the phone lines busy.

"We’ve got a hospital in Randolph," she said. "If people are discharged with a prescription to be filled, what can they do?"

Robert Borden, a senior advocate and case manager working out of the Randolph Area Senior Center, said he’d heard from perhaps a half dozen clients who had been inconvenienced.

"Their reaction has been one of disbelief," he said. "They can’t understand how this could be."

Employees at Rite-Aid in Randolph referred questions to corporate headquarters in Camp Brook, Penna. However, officials there denied there was much of a problem.

Ashley Flowers, a public relations specialist at the Rite Aid corporate headquarters, contacted Sept. 26 confirmed there had been some unscheduled closings but characterized those closures as an emergency situation rather than the result of any long-term problem.

She said there was no staffing shortage, and that she couldn’t see any reason to expect more closures in the future.

It was two weeks later, however, that there were closures on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. And the company’s web site lists full-time job openings for pharmacists in 17 Rite-Aid stores, including Randolph.

Other sources said they understood the problem at Rite-Aid was that one of two pharmacists had left the store about two months ago, leaving the busy department to rely heavily on floaters and per-diem workers.

Shortage Confirmed

Officials at Gifford Medical Center confirmed that there is a major problem with a shortage of pharmacists, not just in Randolph or Vermont, but in the nation.

Linda Minsinger, vice president of patient care services, also confirmed that the hospital has been informed frequently by Rite-Aid in recent weeks that no pharmacist would be on duty that day.

Even though Gifford has its own department with two full-time pharmacists, it can’t plug the gap, she said. "We’re not a retail pharmacy, so we can’t dispense medications for more than a 24-hour period, and we can’t fill prescriptions for the general public."

The Rite-Aid closings have been a problem, she said. "When we’re discharging patients now, we really have to scramble."

"So far, we haven’t seen anyone come in to Gifford as a patient with a problem caused by being unable to fill their prescription, but that’s a big possibility," she said.

Dr. Lou DiNicola, a pediatrician and the medical director of Gifford Hospital, said that pharmacy closures were worrisome. He said the hospital was unable to give out medications and that pharmacy closures would "create significant barriers" for patients.

Gifford’s pharmacy director Jane McConnell, a pharmacist herself, echoed the concern.

"I would say it’s critical, especially in rural areas. We’re going to feel the pain harder than metro areas," she said.

She was disinclined to blame Rite-Aid, though. "Rite-Aid would love to stay open," she pointed out. "It’s money in the bank."

Rite-Aid’s pharmacy hours are supposed to be 10 hours a day Monday through Friday, eight hours on Saturday and five on Sunday. That’s obviously too much for one pharmacist, even with floaters and per-diem people.

McConnell had advice for people who are on regular medications.

"Get to the pharmacy as early as possible, before your presceiption runs out," she advised. "Think about it ahead of time."

Dr. David Pattison offered the same advice, but he and Schenkman noted that many people lack transportation to change their routines for picking up prescriptions.

Rite-Aid also has a branch pharmacy in Bethel, staffed by longtime pharmacist Mike Gaidys. Hours there are 9-6 Monday through Thursday and 9-5 on Friday, and Gaidys said there haven’t been unscheduled closings there recently.