Memphis-based discount retailer Fred’s is closing many of its stores and pharmacies. And as the troubled chain downsizes, patients across the Southeast are scattering.
Fred’s specialized in small towns. So that means closures often hit harder, says Reginald Dilliard, executive director of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.
“Usually there is more than one pharmacy in town. But there may only be two or three,” he says. “It does have some impact on patient care and patient safety, if a pharmacy closes unexpectedly and then patients are trying to figure out where to get their prescriptions filled.”
Fred’s has notified the state of some closures, but Dilliard says he’s still waiting on some specific plans related to how they will dispose of controlled substances.
In July, the company announced
the closure of an additional 129 stores. It said at the time that the pharmacies would remain open, but instead, several of those have shut down. The Westmoreland location sold its patient files to Brown Pharmacy. Monterrey closes at the end of the month with another pharmacy taking over.
The pharmacy in Camden remains open for now, despite the front of the store closing. Customer Susan Engelman is a pain patient who says she has appreciated Fred’s for not treating pain patients like her as criminals.
“They totally understand,” she says. “There’s some of us that there is no other treatment.”
Given heightened scrutiny on opioids, Engelman says she worries that when her Fred’s closes, the Walmart down the road might not be so easy to deal with.
A private equity firm has shut down a large majority of Fred’s locations and even
sold its Memphis headquarters. The company has experienced a rapid decline, with its stock price dropping from $15 to less than $0.50 in the last two years.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
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