Saranac Lake Walgreens Pharmacy to close before weekend | News, sports, jobs

Walgreens in Saranac Lake can be seen here on November 22nd. (Company photo – Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE – The pharmacy counter at the Saranac Lake Walgreens is actually temporarily closed Friday.

Although a sign was posted on the building’s front door last week, it originally said the pharmacy would be closing on December 2nd due to a… “Lack of staff” Walgreens spokesman Sami Stansberry said this week the actual closing date is Friday.

The store remains open for other over-the-counter medications. But until the pharmacy manager position is filled, people will have to drive to the chain’s Lake Placid location to pick up their prescriptions from the company.

Managers and employees at the store said last week that they could not speak to the press about the details. Stansberry said she didn’t have details about what caused the staffing shortage or when the store might be able to reopen the pharmacy counter.

The sign on the door states that the Saranac Lake and Lake Placid stores share a central profiling system, so Lake Placid staff can transfer medication scripts to that location when contacted. The Lake Placid store number is 518-523-5305.

“We apologize for any inconvenience.” The sign says.

People with automatic refill prescriptions will have their scripts automatically transferred to the Lake Placid location.

“All recipes are transferred automatically” Stansberry said.

If a drug is a controlled substance, the sign says people should speak to their doctors to have the script sent to the Lake Placid Walgreens.

Last month, Walgreens said it would close about 1,200 of its 8,500 stores next year as several major pharmacy chains reduce their footprint.

Stansberry said there are currently no plans to close the Saranac Lake Walgreens.