The Vancouver Clinic will hand over pharmacy operations to Fred Meyer this month, a move that will result in pharmacy closures at two of its clinics and layoffs for about a dozen employees.
The Vancouver Clinic announced Wednesday it will transfer pharmacy operations to the grocery chain beginning June 12.
The pharmacy at the clinic’s 87th Avenue location will close June 9 and reopen June 12 under the operation of Fred Meyer.
The Vancouver Clinic’s other two pharmacies, at the Salmon Creek and Columbia Tech Center locations, will close permanently June 9. Prescriptions at those locations will automatically transfer to the nearest Fred Meyer pharmacy.
The 13 employees in The Vancouver Clinic’s pharmacy department had the option of interviewing for positions at the 87th Avenue pharmacy and other Fred Meyer pharmacies in Clark County, said Chastell Ely, spokeswoman for The Vancouver Clinic.
They were also encouraged to consider other open positions within The Vancouver Clinic, she said.
The pharmacy at The Vancouver Clinic’s 87th Avenue location will continue to operate 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The phone number, 360-397-3314, will not change.
“The Vancouver Clinic strategically looks to identify community partnerships that strengthen our services and commitment to quality, convenient patient care,” Mark Mantei, The Vancouver Clinic CEO, said in a news release.
“Both The Vancouver Clinic and Fred Meyer have been serving Clark County residents for many years. Fred Meyer pharmacy locations are open evenings and weekends, which is a huge benefit to our patients needing prescriptions filled, and they have locations near our clinics.”
Fred Meyer pharmacists will also have prescriptive authority, under a collaborative drug therapy program overseen by The Vancouver Clinic, to assess and prescribe medication for minor ailments in all Clark County Fred Meyer pharmacies.
That agreement means Fred Meyer pharmacists can treat patients with 25 different conditions, such as seasonal allergies, urinary tract infections, minor burns and earaches. They can also refill prescriptions for asthma and migraines, as well as prescribe contraceptives, according to the news release.
The Vancouver Clinic operates five clinics in Clark County and has plans to open its sixth clinic in Ridgefield next year.
Portland-based Fred Meyer has seven grocery stores in Clark County.
