PLAINFIELD – Amid shrinking regional access to pharmacies across the state, the Health Center at Plainfield has a unique two-part solution for providing local prescription access.
The Community Health Pharmacy (CHP) is a mail-order retail pharmacy operating specifically for patients of Vermont health centers. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are able to offer this pharmacy service, called a 340B pharmacy, with prices equal to and often lower than other pharmacies.
photo by Raymonda Parchment
Notably, an Automated Dispensing Unit (ADU) in the Health Center at Plainfield can provide short-term or starter packages of many prescription medications on site, saving patients time and travel expenses.
According to a 2009 Brattleboro Reformer article, he ADU is used by a pharmacy technician, requiring a bar coded paper to obtain the medicines. The ADU contains 122 drugs used to treat acute conditions requiring quick treatment. Other prescriptions are mailed to patients from the CHP pharmacy at no extra charge and generally arrive within a day or two.
The CHP mail order pharmacy is available to patients of the Hardwick Area Health Center, though an ADU is not.
Across the state, area healthcare providers are adapting to the accumulating losses in pharmacy retailers, which are creating pharmacy deserts. Pharmacy deserts are generally defined as places where there is no or limited access to a pharmacy. Communities in rural areas are considered pharmacy deserts if the nearest pharmacy is 10 miles away or more.
According to the state’s Board of Pharmacy, 28 pharmacies permanently closed in Vermont between 2019 and 2024. In just this past year, all five remaining Rite Aid pharmacies in the state of Vermont were marked for either sale or closure. Numerous Walgreens locations have also closed, after the retail giant announced last year that 1,200 store locations would be permanently shuttered. So far, locations in Hardwick, Burlington, Newport, Morrisville and Montpelier have been closed.
Solutions are available for those living in pharmacy deserts, such as mail-order pharmacies. Some retailers like Kinney Drugs offer weekly deliveries. However, clinical pharmacists and pharmacist technicians provide more than just prescription access, offering services like seasonal vaccinations and immediate prescription expertise that cannot be easily imitated or replaced. Solutions like the CHP and ADU at Plainfield bridge some of these gaps, but the statewide issue of limited access still looms large.
To sign up for the CHP services, visit thcplainfield.org/pharmacy/
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
