Staff bid fond farewell on pharmacys final day | News, Sports, Jobs

Publish date: 2024-05-02

Foodland Pukalani pharmacy techs Robyn Kaneshina (clockwise from top left), Nicole Calibuso, Cindy Haole and Shyli Puahala-Lau pose outside the store with pharmacist Tamara Lindsey Wednesday afternoon on the pharmacy’s last day of operation. Longtime customers brought gifts of flowers and baked treats as they said their goodbyes to the pharmacy’s nine staff members. Foodland is closing its seven pharmacies statewide this week as it transfers prescriptions to Longs Drugs. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

PUKALANI — Wednesday’s closing of the Foodland Pukalani pharmacy was a prescription for tears as staffers bid farewell to longtime customers, to each other and to their jobs.

Members of the crew working Wednesday could be seen welling up with tears as they cleared shelves and packed things away. They said it was particularly hard explaining to customers they were closing for good.

“The’re crying at our windows,” said pharmacy tech Nicole Calibuso after posing for a photo with co-workers outside the store. “The whole Upcountry is devastated.”

She said customers and friends had been dropping off cakes and cookies and flowers all day.

“It’s like a funeral,” she said. “We’re going to miss everybody.”

Foodland, which entered the pharmacy business in 1995, announced last month it was closing all seven of its pharmacies statewide, with all of its prescriptions transferring electronically to Longs Drugs. The Pukalani pharmacy was the only location closing on Maui.

By Wednesday six of the pharmacies had closed; the final location in Princeville on Kauai will close today.

Pharmacist Tamara Lindsey said the crew that worked straight through the pandemic, apart from a brief break when COVID-19 swept through the staff, now finds itself out of work.

“None of us have jobs,” Lindsey said. “Nobody’s offered us anything.”

Pharmacy tech Robyn Kaneshina said the staff of nine was looking forward to a break, but the reality is there are bills and mortgages to pay and families to support.

“We’re going to wait and see what doors open for us,” Kaneshina said, adding she would miss her co-workers and customers. “It’s like losing your family members.”

All pharmacy customer prescriptions will be automatically transferred to Longs; customers do not have to take any action, according to Foodland. Customers may continue to call their usual Foodland pharmacy for 90 days after closing and the phone will ring at Longs. They can go to the Longs location of their choice to refill a prescription, as their information will be in the company’s centralized system.

“The decision to exit the pharmacy business was not an easy one for us,” Foodland Chairman and CEO Jenai Wall said in March. “While compressed margins and rising costs have led to increasing losses, we were concerned about the impact any closure would have on our many loyal pharmacy customers and employees.

“We are grateful that our agreement with Longs Drugs will help ensure our customers’ access to care will be uninterrupted, while also enabling us to better focus our attention on delivering great grocery shopping experiences and meeting the ever-changing food needs of our customers.”

* Matthew Thayer can be reached at thayer@maui.net. Managing Editor Colleen Uechi contributed to this report.

Foodland Pukalani pharmacy techs Robyn Kaneshina (clockwise from top left), Nicole Calibuso, Cindy Haole and Shyli Puahala-Lau pose outside the store with pharmacist Tamara Lindsey Wednesday afternoon on the pharmacy’s last day of operation. Longtime customers brought gifts of flowers and baked treats as they said their goodbyes to the pharmacy’s nine staff members. Foodland is closing its seven pharmacies statewide this week as it transfers prescriptions to Longs Drugs. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

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