Vt. takes note of pharmacist shortage

October 29, 2007

RANDOLPH, Vt. - Kathryn Schenkman, a case manager with the Central Vermont Council on Aging, had been hearing from her clients for some time that it was becoming harder to fill prescriptions because pharmacies seemed to be keeping shorter hours.

Then it hit home for her. Trying to fill a prescription, she called the Rite Aid in Randolph and got a recording saying it was closed for the day. No problem, she thought. She was heading to Middlebury and would fill her prescription there. But when she called, that pharmacy was closed for the day.

Drugstores around Vermont have been trimming hours in response to a growing shortage of pharmacists. It is a problem nationwide, and some think it may be especially acute in Vermont because the state lacks a pharmacy school. "It's affecting seniors throughout the state," Schenkman said. "They can't get their medication when they need it. They're told to plan ahead, but they can't plan ahead when there are random closings."

The state Office of Professional Regulation has received numerous calls about the problem. Chief Investigator Amy Carlson said she planned to bring the issue to the Vermont Board of Pharmacy.

A variety of reasons are offered for the shortage. Many pharmacists are getting older and retiring or cutting back hours. More women are working in the field, and experts say they are more likely to work part time as they juggle family responsibilities with their professional work.

A search on the Internet site Yahoo for "pharmaceutical and biotech jobs" in Vermont showed 21 openings in the state. And the highly skilled jobs, which typically demand six years of schooling, pay well. The National Community Pharmacists Association says the average hourly wage is $47, which works out to more than $97,000 a year based on a 40-hour week.

Vermont may soon have its first school of pharmacy. The Albany School of Pharmacy said a satellite campus in the Burlington area is in the planning stages.

But James Marmar, executive director of the Vermont Pharmacists Association, said that may not solve the problem. "Even in Connecticut, where they have a school, stores are closing," he said. "It's part of the epidemic problem of a shortage of pharmacists."