Little Village neighbors decry plans to close CVS pharmacy

Members of the Little Village community gathered Friday to ask CVS to reconsider its decision to close its pharmacy in the neighborhood, saying residents would need to travel too far to get their prescriptions filled.

The store, at 2634 S. Pulaski Road, is set to close June 7, CVS Health confirmed.

22nd Ward Ald. Michael Rodríguez said his office had received “a number of phone calls primarily from seniors in the neighborhood, worried about where they’re going to go and fulfill their prescriptions.” He said he learned about the closure several weeks ago.

“We don’t want to see another blighted business in our community,” he said.

Rodríguez’s office asked CVS to reconsider closing the pharmacy in a May 18 letter signed by local elected officials including U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and state Sen. Celia Villanueva, as well as community and health organizations including Enlace Chicago, Howard Brown Health, Instituto del Progreso Latino and the St. Anthony and Sinai Chicago hospitals.

The letter notes that the next closest CVS pharmacy is in Cicero, about 2 ½ miles from the Little Village location. Neighborhood residents without cars will need to take one or two buses to fill their prescriptions, the letter said.

In a statement, CVS Health said all prescriptions at the location would be transferred to its Cicero store, and that patients can also choose to transfer to other CVS pharmacies. The company declined to comment on how many prescriptions it fills at the Little Village location.

“Maintaining access to pharmacy services in historically underserved communities is an important factor we consider when making store closure decisions,” the company’s statement said. “Other factors include local market dynamics, cultural and language barriers, consumer buying patterns, a community’s store density, and ensuring there are other geographic access points to meet the needs of the community, including COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.”

There is a Walgreens pharmacy down the street from the Little Village CVS at 26th Street and PulaskiRoad. But some patients won’t be able to transfer their medications there because of the decision by Aetna, which is owned by CVS, to drop Walgreens from its Aetna Better Health of Illinois Medicaid network in December 2020.

At the time, critics of the Aetna decision told the Tribune the decision was affecting poor and majority-Black neighborhoods on the city’s South and West sides. Aetna said in a statement in December 2020 that the decision “has not created or contributed to network access issues.”

“We meet or exceed all of the state’s access requirements for managed care organizations,” the statement from Aetna said. “In fact, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has reviewed our updated network and determined it ensures equity.”

Last year, CVS announced it would close 900 U.S. stores over three years. In a statement Friday, the company said it was in the process of transferring employees at the Little Village CVS to other stores. The chain currently has nearly 70 locations in Chicago.

“The organizations I represent believe that health care is a human right,” said Anne Scheetz of Physicians for a National Health Program Illinois and the Illinois Single-Payer Coalition, speaking at the Friday news conference. “That it is not a commodity to be available only to those who have money.”

Scheetz said she lives in Logan Square and that there are four CVS pharmacies within walking distance of her house. “They are adding stores in wealthy neighborhoods,” she said. “And they’re closing them in these neighborhoods. That ain’t right.”

The closure was announced during the “context of a worldwide pandemic that continues to rage,” said Raoul Contreras of the group Mi Villita Neighbors.

Speakers Friday noted Little Village had been hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the 60623 ZIP code, which includes the neighborhood, had the most virus-related deaths in Cook County.

Jesús Del Toro, a spokesperson for Garcia, said Friday that the congressman had arranged a meeting with CVS’s federal affairs teams “to relay the concerns of Little Village community members and health advocates about the announced closure.”

tasoglin@chicagotribune.com