When Leslie’s Drugstore, one of four pharmacies on the Vineyard, closed last month, health officials were scrambling to make sure Islanders would still be able to get their medications.
Now more than three weeks later, pharmacies and providers say they are resettling patients to the remaining pharmacies and helping set up a short-term solution for customers in a statewide program that was solely administered by Leslie’s.
“There was definitely a feeling of panic,” said Lucy Hackney, the chief operating officer of Island Health Care, the federally qualified community health center based in Edgartown. “I think we are already in a much better spot.”
Leslie’s, a Vineyard Haven mainstay for more than 70 years, closed Sept. 28. Since then pharmacists said patients appear to have evenly spread to Conroy Apothecary in West Tisbury, Vineyard Scripts in Vineyard Haven and Stop and Shop pharmacy in Edgartown.
And although it’s October, the influx of customers to the other stores has made business more like the high season.
“We are definitely busier,” said Tamara Hersh, the co-owner of Conroy’s. “It’s just a larger volume of prescriptions, [but] no different than what we do in the summer.”
When Leslie’s announced the plan to close, one of the biggest concerns centered on the fact that it was the only pharmacy on the Island that was part of the state’s Health Safety Net system.
Health Safety Net is a program that pays for some medical services for low-income patients who are uninsured or under-insured.
Ms. Hackney said Island Health Care has set up a temporary arrangement for Vineyard Health Safety Net patients to obtain their prescriptions from three Upper Cape pharmacies.
The Community Health Center of Cape Cod locations in Falmouth and Bourne, as well as Falmouth Hospital have agreed to take on patients in the program. Island Health Care said mail orders are an option and the health center is looking into a courier service that could ferry prescriptions across Vineyard Sound.
Ideally, the Vineyard should have its own Health Safety Net pharmacy, but the stopgap measure can remain in place until agreements are worked out with the state, Ms. Hackney said.
“For now, it feels like a big relief to have this solution and we are trying to figure out how to make it as easy as possible for patients,” she said.
Island Health Care has hundreds of patients in Health Safety Net, Ms. Hackney said; about 170 of them use Leslie’s for regular prescription drug coverage. Other providers likely have Health Safety Net patients as well, meaning the change affects a wide swath of Islanders.
Island Health Care, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and other organizations are working for a more permanent solution on the Island.
“Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has an unwavering commitment to providing high-quality patient care and addressing the health needs of our Island community,” said David Caron, vice president of diagnostic and therapeutic services at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Island Health Care is offering travel assistance for Islanders who need to go to the mainland to pick up their medications.
Ms. Hackney praised the speed with which Vineyard health providers came together to help people.
“As with a lot of things, I think it’s a testament to our community,” she said.
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