Long lines at South Whidbey's only pharmacy have raised concerns in the aging community.
Long lines at the only pharmacy on South Whidbey have raised concerns and generated complaints in the aging community.
The Rite Aid in Freeland remains the only pharmacy on Whidbey Island south of Coupeville. Island Drug in Clinton closed last summer and transferred all the prescription records to the Rite Aid.
The situation isn't unique to Whidbey. A national shortage of pharmacies and pharmacists has hit rural areas especially hard, leaving a half million people in Washington state alone in "pharmacy deserts," according to Washington State University.
Customers of the Rite Aid have complained about the long lines in recent months, while most stressed that they appreciated the hard work and diligence of the staff. Resident Betty Azar wrote a letter to the editor explaining that she waited 37 minutes, which was difficult because she's elderly and has joint pain.
"Standing that long is difficult," she wrote. "There was a man on crutches in line, a hunched woman with a walker. And a number of disgruntled but resigned people who had no choice but to wait it out and be as understanding of Rite Aid's dilemma as possible."
Resident Michael Neff said waits have been as long as 50 minutes while the line stretched to the door. He said he was unceremoniously kicked out of the store by an employee when he got in line about 15 minutes before the store closed down.
Neff later spoke to the store manager, who assured him that she was taking the situation seriously. The manager is working to hire more staff after five people quit in a short period of time while the store was already under pressure from taking on the Island Drug customers. She is also setting up chairs and starting a number system so customers don't have to stand in line, Neff said.
Rite Aid employees said they aren't allowed to speak to the media. The Record reached out to the corporate office, which released a statement.
"We apologize for any inconvenience or delay in service to our customers and are actively exploring solutions to improve the experience for our community. Our teams are working diligently to provide the proper care as timely and efficiently as possible," the statement read.
Officials at WhidbeyHealth are aware of the problem. Conor O'Brien, the marketing manager at the hospital, said they started evaluating what they could do to help the community after learning about the closure of the Clinton pharmacy last summer.
Coupeville was in a similar situation after the Linds Pharmacy closed in 2015. In response, WhidbeyHealth opened the Community Pharmacy in Coupeville in the fall of 2021.
O'Brien said WhidbeyHealth took a couple of steps to help with the lack of pharmacies on the South End. The hours of operations at the Community Pharmacy were extended to six days a week, giving residents access to services for eight hours on Saturday.
In addition, the pharmacy implemented home delivery for patients in Greenbank, Freeland, Langley and Clinton.
"WhidbeyHealth encourages residents of South Whidbey to see why WhidbeyHealth Community Pharmacy was named 'Best of Whidbey' in 2024 - prompt refills, easy pick-up (with drive-thru), and home deliveries (for south-island residents)," he wrote in an email.
Additional information can be found on the WhidbeyHealth website, whidbeyhealth.org.
In addition, Rite Aid has a service in which prescriptions can be mailed to customers.