New York CNN –
Pharmacy staff at some Walgreens stores locked their doors and left the stores Monday, citing harsh working conditions that made it difficult to safely fill prescriptions.
CNN confirmed pharmacy closures at some Walgreens locations in Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts and Oregon, and pharmacy staff and customers are posting on social media that additional closures are taking place across the country.
Here’s what you need to know:
Pharmacists, technicians and support staff are planning strikes Monday through Wednesday, an organizer who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation confirmed to CNN.
Some stores remain open with skeleton crews – an organizer told CNN that Walgreens asked regional leaders on Monday to mobilize and staff pharmacies.
Many pharmacies that are open are severely understaffed, as the majority of their employees reported today. Some stores said they would only be able to operate their drive-thru pharmacy Monday, while others said they would close early due to staff shortages.
Walgreens told CNN in a statement that “a small number of our pharmacies are experiencing disruptions and we apologize for any inconvenience.” Walgreens said it is working to “return these pharmacies to regular operations as quickly as possible,” adding that the vast majority of pharmacies remain open.
Still, regional Walgreens leadership is struggling to keep some West Coast locations open. In a text message thread reviewed by CNN, managers reported a spate of pharmacy closures and asked for additional insurance to stay open. Some managers said they received calls urging them to join the strikes, while others warned their employees not to speak to the media.
A Walgreens representative said Monday that the company “understands the immense pressures currently facing retail pharmacy across the U.S.” and that they are “committed and listening to the concerns of some of our team members.”
Unlike the WGA and United Auto Worker strikes, there is no union leader to coordinate and publicly address the movement. Instead, pharmacy employees are using platforms like Reddit and Facebook, as well as emails and leaflets, to plan strikes.
Without a central organizational authority, it is difficult to say how many pharmacies will be closed. Organizers told CNN they have heard from well over 500 interested stores (out of about 9,000) across the country. Walgreens did not immediately respond to questions about the exact number of pharmacy closures.
The pharmacy staff is burned out.
A survey conducted last year by the American Pharmacists Association and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations found that pharmacy staff are inundated with requests for prescriptions, vaccinations and other services, without enough – or adequately trained – staff to fill the orders . Meanwhile, they complain that some patients are harassing and bullying them.
The survey also found that pharmacy employees say management is too focused on profits and faces constant interruptions to their workflow that prevent them from making decisions about how appropriate a treatment might be for a particular patient.
And when pharmacy employees take their complaints to management, they fall on deaf ears, the survey found.
“There is no open mechanism for pharmacists and pharmacy staff to discuss workplace issues with supervisors and management; If they try, the discussion will not be welcomed or heard,” the groups wrote.
Some CVS and Walgreens employees told CNN that a new focus on vaccinations is increasing their workloads and making it harder to focus on filling prescriptions or serving customers.
“On a good day it’s a hard job. It’s an incredibly rewarding job, but it’s hard,” said Amanda Applegate, interim executive director of the Kansas Pharmacists Association. “And so the idea that pharmacists essentially become ATMs in these environments and promote volume over quality is why this is happening.”
Pharmacy employees are essential healthcare workers
Wolters Kluwer’s Pharmacy Next survey found that 58% of Americans are likely to first look at pharmacies for non-emergency health care. More than 80% said they trust a pharmacist, nurse or nurse practitioner to diagnose minor illnesses and prescribe medications to treat them.
“Pharmacies are becoming a preferred location for non-emergency care, particularly among younger generations,” said Dr. Peter Bonis, chief medical officer at Wolters Kluwer Health.
CVS recently had a strike and talks are ongoing.
In September, CVS pharmacists in the Kansas City area closed up to 22 pharmacies within two weeks as part of a planned protest.
“Pharmacists are doing exactly what they were trained to do, which is to assess the situation and take whatever action is necessary to ensure they are providing the best patient care,” said Michael Hogue, CEO of the American Pharmacists Association, who traveled to Kansas City last week. to meet with CVS executives and strike organizers. “We have a widespread problem of inadequate staffing in community pharmacies in the United States.”
In an internal memo reviewed by CNN, Prem Shah, chief pharmacy officer and president of pharmacy and consumer health at CVS, apologized to his Kansas City-based pharmacy teams for not addressing their concerns in a timely manner.
Another meeting with Shah is scheduled for later this week, but no time or place has been set, a CVS strike organizer told CNN.
CVS officials told CNN that no specific discussions are planned because executives do not view this as a “one-time meeting or update … but rather an ongoing two-way dialogue to discuss how we are meeting the commitments we make to our teams.” “I want to continue to hear your direct feedback,” said Amy Thibault, senior director of external communications for CVS Pharmacy.
A key organizer of the CVS strikes in Kansas City told CNN that if there is no meeting this week, there could be another round of industrial action.
Walgreens and CVS say they are working with pharmacy staff to resolve the situation.
In a statement to CNN, Walgreens acknowledged that its pharmacy employees were overworked.
“The last few years have required unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in that work – but recognize that it has been a very challenging time,” said Fraser Engerman, a Walgreens spokesman. “We also understand the tremendous pressure currently facing retail pharmacy across the United States. We are committed and listening to the concerns of some of our team members.”
Walgreens is committed to “ensuring our entire pharmacy team has the support and resources necessary to continue to provide the best care to our patients while caring for their own well-being,” Engerman added. “We are investing significantly in pharmacist salaries and hiring bonuses to attract and retain talent in hard-to-staff locations.”
Similarly, CVS told CNN that the company is “committed to providing access to consistent, safe, high-quality health care to the patients and communities we serve and will work with our pharmacists to address any concerns directly.” “
The company is “focused on developing a sustainable, scalable action plan that can be implemented in markets where support may be needed so we can continue to provide the high-quality care our patients depend on,” a representative said.
—CNN’s Ramishah Maruf and Sergio Padilla contributed to this report.