The Walgreens on Fordham Road is set to close permanently on Nov. 7. The pharmacy has served the local community as well as Fordham University students for several years.
Students who had prescriptions filled at the pharmacy received letters informing them that they needed to switch their prescriptions to another Walgreens. The closest Walgreens is at 49 W Fordham Rd. about a mile and a half away. Students have expressed displeasure at the closure.
“Where do I get my prescriptions now? The Walgreens by the 4 train?” said Natalie Fedde, FCRH ’25.
The pharmacy offers vaccines and FedEx pickup and dropoff, where customers can have their packages delivered to the business or drop packages off for return there.
“Beyond it being annoying for me as a student, I worry about people in the community who get their flu vaccines at the Walgreens,” said Caitlin Wong, FCRH ’27.
Walgreens shared a statement about the closure with the Ram:
“Our retail pharmacy business is central to our go-forward business strategy. However, increased regulatory and reimbursement pressures are weighing on our ability to serve our patients profitably. We’ve reached a point where the current pharmacy model is not sustainable and the challenges in our operating environment require that we approach the market differently. We are making substantial changes to our store footprint, closing stores based on profitability including this store in New York which is not able to cover the costs associated with rent, staffing, and supply needs. While it is not an easy decision to close a store, we will work to minimize customer disruptions. We intend to redeploy the majority of our team members and offer our dedicated team members new roles at other locations.”
Fordham’s Health Center does offer some services, including flu shots and other vaccines. However, the university cannot provide some prescriptions such as birth control.
The Health Center website states, “Neither contraceptives nor birth control are distributed or prescribed on premises as a standard practice. University Health Services’ staff do make limited exceptions in writing appropriate prescriptions for the treatment of an existing medical condition accompanied by supporting documentation.”
“It’s one thing that I can’t go and get snacks and daily necessities, but now getting things like my prescriptions just got a whole lot harder,” said Emilie Campbell, FCRH ’27.
It’s not yet clear what the now-Walgreens storefront will turn into, but overall, students expressed that they find the closure inconvenient.
