CVS pharmacists say company plans on improving working conditions after walkout

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

CVS pharmacists who participated in a statewide walkout on Wednesday to protest working conditions say progress has been made.

On Wednesday, multiple sources told ABC 17 News that at least 32 pharmacists in the Kansas City metro area participated in the walk-out. CVS responded to the walkouts by pulling pharmacists from other locations to help cover the shifts in an effort to keep all of their locations open. 

"I would say we accomplished more in seven days for the improvement of the retail drug industry that has been done in my previous 20 years here at CVS," a pharmacist -- who wished to remain anonymous -- told ABC 17 News.

ABC 17 News has spoken with several employees of Mid-Missouri CVS locations this week. All wished to remain anonymous due to the possibility of retaliation. 

Corey Schneider was one of the Kansas City-area pharmacists who participated in the walkout. 

“I didn’t hear about it until Friday (Sept. 22) but from the moment I did hear something was going on I jumped in and have been doing everything I can because my top priority is advocating for my patients and my co-workers”, Schneider said. 

Wednesday's protest came after similar walkouts were staged on Sept. 20-21.

The walkouts got the attention of CVS. Multiple pharmacists who participated in the walkout said that CVS held a conference call that included a new regional manager. For some of the pharmacists, it was the first time they had heard from the new leader of the Kansas City region. 

“My impressions of the call were positive,” Schneider said.  "They said a lot of good things about trying to help us. At this point a lot of it is generalities but I am going to take them at their word that they are going to do something.” 

According to another pharmacist who was in the meeting, some promises from CVS leadership included: 

• Approving extra hours for technicians and pharmacist to meet the needs of the business until market stabilization.
• Paying pharmacist for extra time worked at their stores.
• Laptops will be sent to allow pharmacists to assist pressured stores virtually, in order to help prevent backlog.
• Reducing vaccination appointments to a manageable amount.
• Cleanup teams from outside the market will be deployed to help stores that are behind and prevent rollover.
• The company will used outside organizations to help the market hire qualified pharmacists and technicians.

"They [CVS] have done a lot to stabilize the market already and will be taking this blueprint of how they helped us and bring it to other parts of the country to implement nationwide improvements," an anonymous pharmacist wrote in a text message to ABC 17 News. "I have been impressed with their response, it's a shame it came to this"

Four pharmacists -- who were leaders of the walkout -- met with CVS Executive Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer Prem Shah on Tuesday. According to a pharmacist who was at the meeting, Shah said he will meet with employees again.

"We always seek to work with our pharmacists to directly address any concerns they may have – and have been meeting with teams in the Kansas City market this week," CVS said in a Wednesday statement. "We want our pharmacy teams to be able to succeed, which is why we’ve taken several actions to support our local teams including providing additional pharmacy resources to support stores that may be at capacity, providing additional support for filling open positions and increasing staffing levels."

Another meeting with the CVS executive team is set for October to discuss progress and provide updates, according to an pharmacist who helped organize the walkout.

While the walkouts were viewed as a success by pharmacists, there were some patients who were negatively affected. Amy Pry was one of those patients. She has been using CVS for ten years. 

“I’m diabetic and I have liver disease so I went in yesterday to pick up my medicine because I needed it refilled,” Pry said. 

But when she arrived at the CVS on Bernadette Drive in Columbia to pick up her medicine on Wednesday, the pharmacy was shut down with a note on the counter that read: 

“Due to chronic under-staffing among a host of workplace issues, this Pharmacy will be closed for today. We are very sorry to you, our patients, for the inconvenience. If you have time, please call and voice your concern about staffing and patient safety.”

Pry then called the number on the note. However, she said the CVS representative she spoke to was not aware of the walkout. 

“She [CVS representative] said, ‘Well I will see if the supervisor can respond in 2 to 3 hours or 2 to 3 days and we will let you know where we sent them.’ I talked to her this morning and they have no clue where they are going to send my prescriptions because for the Dexcom (G)6 that I need, it has to have prior authorization through my insurance, which they gave CVS so I can’t even get it transferred," Pry said.  

CVS transferred a pharmacist from St. Louis to cover the shifts at the Columbia Target location. However, the pharmacist had yet to arrive when Pry visited the store, leaving her fearful she would be unable to get her medicine. 

“I only have five days of diabetes medicine left,” Pry said. “I really really like CVS. I’ve been with them for over 10 years and to see that they did a walkout and a shutdown, it broke my heart.” 

Pry has since gone back and was able to get the medicine she needed on Thursday. She added that she wasn’t upset with the pharmacists who walked out. 

“Him [Columbia pharmacist] and this other lady, his tech, they were amazing people because my daughter also has a health condition that’s lifelong. Anytime we had any issues they would go beyond finding what we needed for her,” Pry said. 

The potential effect on patients was not lost on the pharmacist who walked out. 

“There were concerns from people, ‘What are our patients going to do for the day?’ My response to that was ‘One day is worth it if we can actually make some long-term changes’ We are not providing the level of care that we need to be in a lot of cases,” Schneider said. 

Multiple pharmacists from across the country have reached out to ABC 17 News. A common theme is that these workplace issues are not limited to Missouri or CVS. Multiple sources have told ABC 17 News that pharmacists from Walgreens are planning a similar walkout in October. 

“Yesterday wasn’t the end,” Schneider said. “Yesterday was a big day but now we want to make sure that the changes actually happen and they are wider than just a handful of CVS’s in Kansas City. This is an issue at pharmacies across the country.”