HARDWICK – Area Walgreens customers face a future without easy access to prescriptions and other pharmacy staples with the store’s permanent closing on Monday, Sept. 30.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
Walgreens closed its store in Hardwick permanently on September 30. It never reopened after the July 10 flood.
Walgreens advised customers their prescription records were transferred to the Walgreens in Lyndonville, but it is not necessary to contact that store according to a recent letter sent to Hardwick Area Health Center (HAHC) patients. Patients can simply call the health center and give the name of the pharmacy where they want prescriptions filled.
The HAHC letter suggests patients “consider an alternate mail-order pharmacy for your regular prescription needs and a local pharmacy for your periodic needs, such as short courses of antibiotics or rapid access to a changed dose of your regular medicines.
Morrisville has pharmacies at Kinney Drugs, CVS Pharmacy and Hannafords. which are the closest pharmacies to Hardwick. Kinney’s offers weekly deliveries to Hardwick for those unable to travel.
Kinney Drugs has a pharmacy in Barton. Other pharmacies are located in Barre, Montpelier, St. Johnsbury, Lyndonville, Newport and Stowe for those nearer those areas, or who regularly travel in those directions.
Mail order delivery of prescriptions are available through the Community Health Pharmacy (CHP) in Colchester, which works closely with the HAHC. To enroll in CHP, the letter, advises calling +1-888-669-9017 and completing an application.
Both the UVM Mail Order Pharmacy and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Pharmacy offer mail order prescription options for those having specialists affiliated with those facilities, or their partners.
Many insurance carriers offer mail order pharmacy options through their plans covering prescription medicines.
No other pharmacies have announced plans to fill the void created by the closing of Hardwick’s Walgreens.
