When my father needs insulin, he drives 25 miles round trip to the nearest Walgreens in a remote corner of California. That trip takes him about 50 minutes, nearly an hour every time he needs his medication, if he has a car available. It is the only pharmacy within that distance where he can get his medication, a flu shot, or basic health advice.
Walgreens has announced that it’s closing 1,200 stores by 2027. If my father’s pharmacy closes, it’s not a mere inconvenience. These closures are a slow-motion public health emergency. Across rural America, families like mine depend on their local pharmacy not only for medicine, but for survival.
