As of Wednesday, October 30, Alameda Kaiser Permanente members no longer have to leave the island to get their prescriptions filled. The pharmacy has now officially reopened.
The Alameda Kaiser Pharmacy closed in April 2023 due to water damage from heavy rains. Repairs to fix a wall and the floors, as well as install a new drainage system, took nearly 18 months to complete. The closure affected more than 35,000 Kaiser members who had to rely on mail order or travel to the Oakland and San Leandro pharmacies.
“We are very pleased to announce the reopening of our Alameda Pharmacy at 2417 Central Avenue on October 30, 2024,” Kaiser Permanente East Bay Pharmacy Director Brenda Cheung, Pharm.D, said in a statement to the Alameda Post. “We are grateful to our members for their patience and support while the pharmacy was closed.”
Alameda resident and Kaiser member Joya Joseph expressed what most local Kaiser members were feeling. “I’m happy to not have to go to San Leandro anymore,” she said. “But I was liking the home delivery option.”
As of last Thursday, October 24, staff at the Alameda Kaiser facility were skeptical that the pharmacy would reopen on the scheduled date. “It’s scheduled. Like an airlight flight,” quipped an unnamed staff member. “And sometimes they get canceled.”
But on Wednesday morning, the pharmacy had its doors open and was ready to fill prescriptions. At 9:20 a.m., there were hardly any customers despite the sign outside the building that had been changed from the longstanding “Alameda Pharmacy Temporarily Closed” to “Alameda Pharmacy Now Open.”
When asked if Kaiser members were aware that the pharmacy had reopened, Pharmacy Manager Phong Ngo, Pharm.D told the Alameda Post, “We have set up communication with our members and have started passing out flyers in the area.”
Jean Chen is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected]. Her writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jean-Chen.
