No More 24-Hour Pharmacies in the Hudson Valley; What to Do?

If you live in the Hudson Valley and find yourself in need of important medicine you could be completely out of luck.

Recently, a family member quickly became ill and needed to be taken to urgent care. While there, they were prescribed an antibiotic that would make everything alright again. The only problem is that it was after hours and there was no pharmacy anywhere in the Hudson Valley that would be open until the next morning.

The idea seemed preposterous. Surely, there must be somewhere you could get an emergency prescription filled at any time of the day. It turns out that there isn't. For us, we were forced to decide between letting our family member continue to get sicker throughout the night or driving an hour away to the closest 24-hour pharmacy to start them on their course of antibiotics.

How is it, in 2024, that you can order a burger on your phone to be delivered to your house at 2am or punch a button and have a car come to pick you up whenever you want, but you have to make a two-hour round trip to White Plains to find medicine for a sick family member?

Hudson Valley Pharmacies Have Become Frustrating

Thanks to corporate downsizing and the refusal to pay pharmacists a decent wage, large chain drugstores are having trouble hiring enough employees. As a result, not only has the 24-hour pharmacy become extinct, but most Hudson Valley pharmacies are randomly closing for hours at a time in the middle of the day.

Between shorter hours and longer lunch breaks, the lines at the pharmacy are longer than ever.  The drive-up window at my drugstore is always backed up with cars and the wait inside is even worse. Usually, there's one overworked pharmacist running between the window and the counter trying to get everyone taken care of.

I've found myself leaving and coming back several times before finding a time when I don't have to wait forever to get my prescriptions.

There's No Solution in Sight

While online pharmacies and automatic refills are making things easier for those planned drug purchases, getting unplanned medicine has become almost impossible in many communities across the country.

While hospitals can administer life-saving drugs in emergency situations, having a bad infection that is only getting worse doesn't usually qualify. In cases like that, the medical community has apparently agreed that you and I can just get sicker for 12 hours and then wait in line for a drug that may or may not be in stock.