‘It’s very sad’: Only three 24-hour pharmacies left in western Washington

There will be even fewer pharmacies to choose from after Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy this week.

That could possibly include Bartell Drugs, which was acquired by Rite Aid in 2020. In August, we told you when the Lower Queen Anne location shut down. It was the only 24-hour pharmacy in Seattle.

It now leaves a Walgreens in Issaquah, a MultiCare in Tacoma, and a MultiCare in Puyallup as the last 24-hour pharmacies in western Washington.

“With everything shutting down, like things are going to be a little less accessible,” said Bartell customer Descie Svennungsen.

Svennungsen, and her friend Inna Peck who lives in Queen Anne, said the Bartell Drugs on First Avenue was “the neighborhood pharmacy.”

Just last month, it became another location on the list of recent Bartell closures. That also included locations in Lynnwood, Des Moines, Ballard, and downtown Seattle.

“It’s very sad, there’s hardly any places that are open 24 hours and especially anything for the community like a pharmacy,” said Peck. “It’s pretty essential.”

With Rite Aid filing for bankruptcy this week, it runs the risk of even more locations closing, potentially limiting access to medication.

“It’s going to be so hard, there’s so many people in the city that don’t have cars, that can travel that far, or if they do use public transportation, it’s not very accessible to go out to Issaquah,” Svennungsen said. “Hopefully, something else will come out of it to make things more accessible for people.”

In Mill Creek, employees at the Rite Aid on 132nd Avenue told us it will be closing its doors on November 12.

We asked Rite Aid if there are more closures to come. They responded in a statement saying in part that they “intend to close certain underperforming stores to further reduce rent expense and strengthen overall financial performance.”

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