Customers heartbroken, unhappy at news of Rite Aid decision to close all 14 Miami Valley stores

Rite Aid customers are unhappy at finding out the pharmacy chain is shuttering all 14 of its stores in the Miami Valley and nearly all of its stores across Ohio.

Still, some customers said they saw this day coming after hearing the company had filed for bankruptcy.

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As News Center 7 reported today at 5:00, Rite Aid will keep Ohio stores open in Ashland, Cambridge, Uhrichsville and Wooster. The company filed for bankruptcy in October, citing falling sales and the impact of opioid-related lawsuits.

“It’s sad because there’s a lot of things that they’re taking away from us on the west side of Dayton. Period,” Antwon Cunningham told News Center 7′s Malik Patterson on Thursday night. “That was a service to a lot of us in our community.”

Older customers now will have to make adjustments they may not be comfortable with, Cunningham said, noting, “the pharmacy tech that know the medicine they supposed to have and things like that no longer gonna be there.”

News Center 7 visited one Rite Aid store in Montgomery County and found empty shelves and boxes. A pharmacy tech who asked to remain anonymous said the thought has been that Rite Aid could have avoided filing for protection.

The manager of a Rite Aid in Kettering said most of the stores in the Miami Valley will close Aug. 27.

◊ If your pharmacy closes, management there could transfer your prescriptions automatically. And if that happens, the pharmacy should notify you.

◊ If your new pharmacy is too far away , speak with employees and ask them to send your prescription to the pharmacy of your choosing.

◊ If the new pharmacy is a different company, your doctor’s office might have to send a prescription to the new location.

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