Two days ago, The Batavian published an article about multiple dissatisfied CVS customers due to unfilled prescriptions and a phone system gone awry, and during the weekend, the story reaped more than 120 comments discussing the issue and 15 emails from additional customers.

The Batavian reached out on Friday to corporate spokesperson Amy Thibault, Lead Director of External Communications for CVS Pharmacy, and she said that employees would be pulled from others stores to help shore up the gaps at the West Main Street store.

Thibault responded to The Batavian’s follow-up for an update on Sunday evening.

“Extra team members were brought in over the weekend, and they were able to get caught up on delayed prescriptions and returning voicemails,” Thibault said.

The original article began with Roberta White’s story, and how she struggled to obtain her steroid inhaler for bronchitis, compounded by severe asthma. One of her main questions was, 'What's going on?' She was happy to report this past Sunday that she picked up all of her backed-up scripts.

“They were super thorough, and they filled everything I have been waiting on. They were very nice to me and even had the pharmacist come over to explain meds, which they have never done before,” White said. “There was a new pharmacist, not anyone I had seen before. Never had such great service there.

“Whoever they brought in is doing good, but why was this not an option back when people were hurting for meds desperately?” she said. “It seems to me they failed at recognizing and handling urgent needs.”

CVS is certainly not the only company in a bind to hire more help, as many businesses are on the hunt for employees — from manufacturing line workers and corrections officers to restaurants and some post offices.

One reader emailed a comment that this issue is much more far-reaching than just this one store, and is about a stock and staffing shortage, lack of corporate responsibility, and cutting hours across the board with “all drug stores.”

Yet, there were others that praised particular pharmacies that no one seemed to have an issue with, and insurance programs were often cited as the root of stalled prescriptions. Most people did not fault the store staff, which seemed to be doing the best it could. Some people suggested calling in prescriptions early, and yet scripts often cannot be filled until the date for refill is up; others, such as Michael Tooley, chose the self-advocacy route.

“I also have experienced the same issues, which, as you stated, is not the fault of the local staff at all, but management in failing to maintain and/or replenish diminished/inadequate staffing issues,” he said to The Batavian. “I do commend the local Pharmacists (Joel in particular) for going out of their (his) way to finally communicate with me directly and make an effort at amends through an unexpected gift card.  Of course, this only happened because I was the ‘squeaky wheel’ that happened to get the grease because I emailed their Executive Office [ExecutiveOffice@CVSHealth.com] directly, mostly out of frustration after all other avenues to address the issues had failed to get ANY response.”

After all, it’s not that customers aren’t understanding, as Shannon Ferguson said.

“I’m sure they are all frustrated, but so are the rest of us. We’re all dealing with extra work, shortages, and higher costs for everything,” she said.

While most of the comments were complaints about poor service, lagging prescriptions and inability to reach anyone at the West Main Street CVS by phone, others defended it by stating that it’s not the only pharmacy with such issues; the problems are about upper management and not about store staff; where are additional employees supposed to come from in a small city; and/or that no issues have been experienced.

After her first trip to the hospital for a nasty bout of bronchitis, Roberta White was issued a prescription for a steroid inhaler, which was sent to CVS on West Main Street in Batavia.

That was the first week in April.

As of Friday, April 21, she’s still waiting for it. In between that time, White has made additional trips to the hospital for treatment, and, eventually, antibiotics and prednisone, the steroid she needed in the first place, she said.

When she tried to contact CVS by phone, she could not get through to the pharmacy, even when the front store staff transferred her, she said. Already diagnosed with severe asthma, she struggled to breathe and walk very far with her bronchitis at its worst, she said, and couldn’t go to the store until her symptoms got better.

“I had been working with my doctor’s office, they'd call CVS … they weren’t filling my other prescriptions either,” White said. “Yesterday, I decided to contact CVS, and the phone system was down.”

She believes that her visits were an irritation to hospital staff, as they asked why she hadn’t gone to get her prescriptions filled. She explained that she couldn’t because she was continuously told that they were “on hold.” She called CVS corporate and said that not only did the person she spoke to have no answers, but also couldn’t get through to the Batavia pharmacy by phone.

Mary Jo Ognibene is shopping around for another pharmacy that will take her insurance. She wasn’t pleased that the Main Street, Batavia CVS took five and a half hours to fill her child’s two prescriptions, and another CVS branch didn’t answer the phone, she said.

Some online reviewers — for a cumulative rating of 2.8 — were equally unhappy. Carissa Augello said she understood that “there are staffing shortages, but holy cow.”

“I can’t even get through to talk to someone, and when it says I can leave a message, I can’t because the mailbox is full,” she wrote. “I’ve been waiting four days for my child’s prescription.”

Another online reviewer complained that she has “literally been waiting 3 months for my prescription to be filled.”

“Understand there (is) a shortage, but every time more comes in (they’re) supposedly out and say first come, first served, but been waiting 3 months,” Alicia Brenkus wrote.

White added that her mother, a diabetic, has also experienced a lag in getting her prescriptions. Her mom has received a message that her medications are in, and when she goes to pick them up, she’s told they’re not ready, White said.

Full disclosure: this reporter has experienced similar issues of prescriptions not being filled on time, not being able to get through to anyone on the phone after multiple attempts, and then after going in person to pick up scripts that were supposed to be ready, was told that they were not.

To be fair, the two employees that were behind the pharmacy counter during a more recent trip frantically worked to fill orders and do what they could in the moment. One of them explained that the lack of staff has put them two weeks behind.

A couple of signs were posted at the pharmacy counter that said there are issues with volume and staffing.

Apparently, that team has been struggling to fill its roster. The Batavian contacted CVS corporate Lead Director of External Communications Amy Thibault Thursday about the issues at the Batavia store.

“We’ve experienced an unexpected staffing issue at our West Main Street pharmacy, which has led to some delays in service, in-person and over the phone,” Thibault said. “We’re working to bring in additional pharmacy team members from neighboring CVS stores to assist, and we apologize for any delays patients may experience.”

Staffing shortage or not, meds — and lack thereof — are nothing to mess around with, White said. With her severe breathing issues, many medical conditions, including bronchitis, can become a life-and-death matter. “I could die from this,” she said.

This isn’t to say that the employees working at CVS are necessarily doing anything wrong — many are hard-working people trying to serve the needs of customers in the face of apparent staffing hardships and a dysfunctional phone system. However, customers seem to be bearing the brunt of the store’s struggles, and they shouldn’t have to wait days, weeks, and months for necessary medications.

Hopefully, Thibault’s remedy to bring in additional staff from neighboring CVS stores has already begun. Another trip to the pharmacy Friday evening found the drive-thru closed due to the staffing shortage. Adding more personnel couldn’t happen soon enough.

If you’re experiencing issues at CVS, let us know at news@thebatavian.com.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Building on the company’s comprehensive efforts to help slow the spread of the virus, CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) will begin to administer COVID-19 vaccines to eligible populations on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 32 CVS Pharmacy locations across New York, including Batavia.

For CVS Pharmacy locations that will begin to offer COVID-19 vaccinations on Feb. 11, appointments will become available for booking as early as Feb. 9 as stores receive shipments of vaccine.

Supply for the limited rollout in the state, which is sourced directly from the federal pharmacy partnership program, will be approximately 20,600 total doses.

Participating CVS Pharmacies are in communities throughout New York, including Batavia, Bethpage, Clinton, Cooperstown, Eastchester, Glenville, Hamburg, Hudson Falls, Kingston, Mattituck, Owego, Queensbury, Saratoga Springs, Stony Point and Westfield.

As more supply becomes available the company will expand to more locations and offer additional appointments. 

“One of our greatest strengths as a company is our presence in communities across the country, which makes us an ideal partner for administering vaccines in a safe, convenient, and familiar manner,” said Karen S. Lynch, president and chief executive officer, CVS Health. “We continue to be grateful for the commitment of our frontline colleagues whose dedication has allowed us to deliver care and peace of mind throughout the pandemic.”

Vaccines at participating CVS Pharmacy locations in New York will be available to individuals meeting state criteria, which will confirmed by the state in advance of the rollout.

Patients must register in advance at CVS.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app, and people without online access can contact CVS customer service: (800) 746-7287. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment will not be provided.

The availability of COVID-19 vaccines in New York is part of an initial 11 state rollout and includes approximately 335 CVS Pharmacy locations across California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Vaccines will eventually be available at CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the country subject to product availability, with the capacity to administer 20 – 25 million shots per month.

In addition to making COVID-19 vaccines available in local pharmacy locations, CVS Health continues to make progress in its effort to vaccinate residents and staff at more than 1,200 long-term care facilities across New York. As made clear by regularly updated data CVS Health makes publicly available, first doses at all facilities in the state that selected CVS Health to provide COVID-19 vaccinations will be complete by mid-February with second doses well underway.

Multimedia assets, including b-roll and still photography from long-term care facility and in-store COVID-19 vaccinations, are available here. More information on steps CVS Health has taken to address the pandemic is available at the company's frequently updated COVID-19 resource center.

About CVS Health

CVS Health is a different kind of health care company. We are a diversified health services company with nearly 300,000 employees united around a common purpose of helping people on their path to better health. In an increasingly connected and digital world, we are meeting people wherever they are and changing health care to meet their needs.

Built on a foundation of unmatched community presence, our diversified model engages one in three Americans each year. From our innovative new services at HealthHUB® locations, to transformative programs that help manage chronic conditions, we are making health care more accessible, more affordable and simply better. Learn more about how we're transforming health at www.cvshealth.com.