Providence pharmacist fights to keep his community from becoming a pharmacy desert

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Picking up prescriptions is getting more difficult for some Providence residents.

Most people are pretty familiar with the big box pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid, which run thousands of locations across the country.

But when big box stores leave a community, residents can be left with very few other options.

Dr. Eugenio Fernandez, Jr., the founder of Asthenis Pharmacy on Cranston Street, was born and raised in Providence.

“I grew up nearby, I grew up on Hanover Street,” Fernandez said. “I went to school here … And I went to college at University of Rhode Island, I got in through the talent development program.”

After getting four degrees at URI and going through post-grad at Harvard, Fernandez came back to Providence to start a local pharmacy and fill a hole in his community.

And I feel like we’ve seen a lot of new faces,” he said. “We’ve done our best to make sure people have access to our services and give them a level of care that’s really personal.”

Following the closure of a Walgreens on Broad Street at the end of February week, the community in the West End is on the verge of becoming a pharmacy desert.

A pharmacy desert means the community doesn’t have pharmacy within half a mile, or within a mile in areas where cars are more common.

“We’re here to help people, we’re here to kind of fill a void, and we’re here to just do the best work we possibly can to take care of folks and make sure they’re happy and healthy,” Fernandez said.

The nearest pharmacy to Asthenis is around three-quarters of a mile, or a 20-minute walk away

“We’re a small piece of the medical community,” Fernandez said. “And it’s like, when I think of Rhode Island, Rhode Island is a small state compared to the rest of the country. Compared to all the other states, we’re small. Small state, big heart. And I feel like as an independent pharmacy, I hope we have that similar impact.”

Being small might make a big difference after companies like Rite-Aid announced bankruptcy last year, and Walgreens announced its plans to close around 150 locations across the U.S.