Rite Aid closures impacting Valley communities
Garrett Hottle
29 PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) Another national retailer is shutting down locations across our valley. rite aid is closing all of its stores in the coachella valley and that’s leaving customers scrambling to fill prescriptions and workers uncertain about their futures.
The doors are still open but not for long. rite aid’s 29 palms location is one of the last in the valley still operating… until Wednesday.
“So basically, Rite Aid announced that the company is going out of business… ours is tomorrow, July 2nd. And then the prescriptions that are remaining here… is going to be sent all the way down to Cathedral City.,” a pharmacy technician at the 29 Palms Rite Aid location explained.
For customers like Douglas Smith and his wife Virginia, that’s not just inconvenient it’s frustrating.
“A week goes by, they still don’t have it. They’re like, ‘Well, you gotta drive down the hill.’ I said, ‘I gotta drive down the hill to Cathedral City? Are you kidding me?'”
“We used to get our medicine here… we transferred. It was easy, but still it’s a big store. Kind of surprising.”The closures are happening fast. And for employees, the end comes with few options.
“There’s a standby pool… you can opt in to help close other stores. And then after that, we just kind of get laid off.”Still, she says grateful even as she packs up.
“It’s sad. I really did love working here. And I love the community as well… but we move forward.”
Every Rite Aid in the Coachella Valley is either already closed or will be by early July. If your pharmacy is impacted, experts say it’s best to contact your provider now to transfer prescriptions.