quote:
Originally posted by inittowinit:
Pharmacists working day hours make good money (which they deserve). But it is my understanding that those pharmacies that are 24 hours pay even higher rates to pharmacists who work overnight. Which may be the reason there are no 24 hours in florence.
Not may be, but IS the reason there is no 24-hr pharmacy in the Shoals. I work at one of the chain stores. In order to staff a pharmacy 24 hrs, the company would have to hire at least two additional pharmacists at roughly 125K/yr each, at least two techs, another 50-70K/yr combined salary, at least two assistant managers, 70-80K/yr combined salary, and at least two front end clerks, 30-40K/yr, combined salary. All told, a company is looking at shelling out 400-500K/yr just to pay folks to stay at the store overnite. This is in addition to the rest of the staff. Looking at these numbers, there's no way in Hades a company is going to throw that kind of dough around if they don't have a reasonable expectation of getting much of it back. Granted, these numbers are based on my company's rate of pay, others may be higher or lower, but it all boils down to the same answer. Not gonna happen.
Harsh? You bet. But companies like CVS, Walgreens and Rite-Aid are in it to make money, although with Rite-Aid's stock under .50/share, they may not be in it for the money, or much longer, for that matter.
In regards to the closest, the info that we have, and that we give to customers looking for help after hours, is the Walgreens pharmacy in Madison is open 24-hr. I understand that the one in Decatur was once 24-hr for the pharmacy, but no longer.