OAKLAND, Calif. – Residents of Oakland are grappling with changes to their local pharmacy landscape as Walgreens has announced the closure of several stores, including the Walgreens High Street location. This closure is part of a wider trend, with Walgreens set to shut down 1,200 stores across the nation.
For Oakland, the impact is being felt acutely with the Walgreens at 3434 High Street scheduled to close on January 22. Another location at 5809 Foothill Blvd is also slated to close its doors on January 30. Customers of these pharmacies are now being directed to the Walgreens at 3232 Foothill Boulevard, where their prescriptions will be automatically transferred. Richmond residents are similarly affected, with the Walgreens on 1150 Macdonald Avenue closing on January 30, and prescriptions being moved to the Walgreens at 13691 San Pablo Avenue.
Walgreens spokeswoman Samantha Stansberry cited a combination of factors leading to these closures. She explained that increased regulatory burdens and pressures on reimbursement rates are significantly “weighing on our ability to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs.” The company has stated it is working to find alternative positions for employees affected by these closures.
The closure of the Walgreens High Street location is particularly upsetting for long-time customers like Leonard Mercer. Mercer, who was picking up his prescription, expressed his disappointment, noting he has been a loyal customer since 1974. He also mentioned the store’s ongoing struggles with robberies and inventory shortages, often leaving shelves bare. “I’m very, very sad,” Mercer stated, emphasizing the inconvenience of having to find a new Walgreens for his essential medications.
Empty shelves are seen at the Walgreens High Street location in Oakland, California, illustrating inventory shortages before its scheduled closure.
While five other Walgreens locations in Oakland will remain open, including 3232 Foothill Boulevard, 3250 Lakeshore Avenue, 301 E18th Street, 1333 Broadway, and 5055 Telegraph Avenue, these closures reflect a broader challenge facing the drugstore industry. New research published in Health Affairs reveals a concerning trend: approximately 30% of drugstores operating between 2010 and 2020 had closed by 2021. This represents over 26,000 stores out of roughly 89,000 nationwide. The study further indicated that drugstores serving communities with higher numbers of Medicare and Medicaid recipients were disproportionately affected by closures.
This wave of closures is attributed to the increasing cost of pharmaceuticals coupled with stagnant or declining reimbursement rates, creating significant financial strain on drugstores. “It is never an easy decision to close a store,” Stansberry acknowledged, highlighting the difficulty Walgreens faces in maintaining profitability in the current economic climate. The closure of the Walgreens High Street and other locations underscores the evolving landscape of retail pharmacy and the challenges in ensuring continued access to essential healthcare services for communities.
