Local pharmacy stepping up as Arbor Hill CVS prepares to close

An Arbor Hill resident is concerned about where seniors in his community will be able to get their badly-needed prescriptions, now that the CVS pharmacy at 153 Central Ave. is closing. The official closing date is Jan. 12, 2023.

A pharmacy just one block away, Central Avenue Pharmacy at 65 Central Ave., is welcoming former CVS customers to come to their store.

“We’ve been hiring and getting training up to make sure we have enough staff to handle patients coming in, and we’re excited,” said Sarah Walton, the director of pharmacy operations.

Albany resident Roy Conrad says he’s walked by the store a few times, but fears they may not be able to handle the influx of new customers coming their way.

“Can they handle that, as opposed to a pharmacy the size of CVS?” he asked.

Walton tells NewsChannel 13 they’ve taken that all into account.

“It’s stressful for a lot of patients. The thought of switching pharmacies can be very daunting, especially when you have patients that have a lot of medication,” she said. “But we’ve done our best with estimating the number of patients that we think we can be getting with this closing.”

Still, Roy wants to know why CVS is closing.

“Is it panhandlers, is it no parking?” he asked. “This is the capital of New York and this area here is a minority majority community, which is made up of poor people and elderly people,” he explained.

Walton said as an independent pharmacy, they can make all the changes necessary to accommodate the demand. She encourages CVS customers to come in, call, or go on their website at rxalbany.com to make the switch.