Bond Community Health Center says it’s ready to pick up the slack as a CVS pharmacy closes on Tallahassee’s Southside, a historic neighborhood south of downtown where nearly two-thirds of the residents live below the poverty line.
Dr. Temple Robinson, CEO at Bond, says the center is open for patients who used CVS and need to transfer their prescription. Patients are welcome to use the pharmacy no matter who their physician is, but Robinson says uninsured patients can get more assistance if they use Bond as a primary care provider and pharmacy.
“Now, I will tell you this: We have all kinds of secrets and tricks of the trade. ... We have patient assistance and we have someone hired here where that’s all they do all day is to complete applications to get free medications for patients who are uninsured and cannot afford their medication," Robinson says.
Bond Community Health Center is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center that provides primary and preventive health care services in areas of North Florida.
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor says this isn't the first time a chain store has closed, potentially leaving members of the community in the lurch. A Walgreens pharmacy in Southside shuttered in 2017 shortly after a Winn- Dixie in the area also closed. Proctor says he's thankful for Bond's efforts to fill in.
"We find now that CVS decides now for whatever the metrics, whatever the reason, however they measure — well we don't measure up. They have decided to go elsewhere with their store and their brand," Proctor said. "Today, you can tell those who are committed not just in season but out of season, too. When others have said they're not earning enough, when others have said it's not the right location, Bond has been here."
Robinson says patients who wish to transfer prescriptions to the Bond pharmacy should call ahead to give the pharmacy time to order new medications. Otherwise, CVS says when it closes on March 16 prescriptions will be transferred to another Tallahassee CVS on Apalachee Parkway.
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