DELMARVA. -- The ailing pharmacy chain Rite Aid has filed for bankruptcy. It will be closing down all of its stores on the peninsula.
In all, about two dozen locations, from Easton to Pocomoke City, Selbyville, and Smyrna, are all set to disappear. Some will close within a few days, while others will take a few months.
On May 5th, Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is currently in the process of closing stores and selling off its assets. According to a Rite Aid press release, the company has secured $1.94 billion in new financing from existing lenders. The money will support the company's sale and court-supervised process.
Any assets not sold through the court-supervised process will be monetized or divested, according to the press release.
The following statement from Matt Schroeder, Chief Executive Officer of Rite Aid, was included in that press release.
"For more than 60 years, Rite Aid has been a proud provider of pharmacy services and products to our loyal customers. While we have continued to face financial challenges, intensified by the rapidly evolving retail and healthcare landscapes in which we operate, we are encouraged by meaningful interest from a number of potential national and regional strategic acquirors. As we move forward, our key priorities are ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services for our customers and preserving jobs for as many associates as possible."
As for what this means locally, Bill Chambers, Executive Director of the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce, expects heavy job loss. He estimates each Salisbury store employs between 40 to 50 people.
He's also unsure what the future holds for the two Salisbury locations on Mt. Hermon Road and Parsons Road.
"They're big stores, they're big footprints," said Chambers. "The Walgreens on Business 13 continues to stay vacant, I think these are going to be difficult spaces to fill."
Chambers was also able to provide some clarity, suggesting that insurance companies should bear most of the blame.
"Drug companies and the prices that they're passing onto pharmacies aren't being reimbursed at 100% by the insurance companies," said Chambers. "A medication that costs the pharmacy $100, many cases they're getting 70-80% reimbursement on that. That's not a sustainable model and that's one of the reasons Rite-Aid is having these difficulties."
Neighbors are also worried about what this means.
Christine Smith picks up medication from the Parsons Road Rite Aid every week. Her family relies on the store, but there's a good chance on Thursday, she drove out of the parking lot for the last time.
"I have a sick husband to take care of. I have a knee injury, and it's been pretty rough," said Smith. "I'm really sorry to see the close."
She's not the only frequent visitor of that Rite Aid to voice frustration.
"Closing down a pharmacy, that you need prescriptions, we need these things," said Shantell Mitchell. "So, I don't know what else to say, thank the lord for Jesus Christ."
The manager at the Parsons Road Rite Aid could not tell us when they will be closing. Neither could the locations in Berlin or Ocean Pines. The Rite Aid on Mt. Hermon Road will close on June 17th.
Up in Dover, the Rite Aid on Greentree Drive has a sign on the front door indicating that the store will be closed on June 30th. The pharmacy is directing customers to a local CVS.
In a separate press release directed to customers, Rite Aid said it is "working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies."
For many, switching pharmacies could be challenging for several reasons. One is transportation.
"I have transportation, but the people in this area, a lot of them don't because they walk to our office for care and then they just walk over to get prescriptions," said Mitchell. "Now it's like, where are they going to go?"
Another is a potentially difficult transfer process.
"You have to think about the elderly, the young parents that don't know 'hey, I need to find a pharmacy ASAP and actually have that pharmacy call in to have these prescriptions transferred'," said Mitchell.
Rite Aid said most of its stores will remain open for the next few months. People will have access to the pharmacy, in-store and online products as well as immunizations.