ST. THOMAS – The pharmacy located in Kmart in Tutu Park Mall on St. Thomas closed Wednesday, transferring all inventory and patient files to the Walgreens Pharmacy located just across the street.
According to a Walgreens representative, who declined to comment on the reason behind the closure, talks of the retail pharmacy chain’s buyout of Kmart Pharmacy store no. 3829 began a couple of months ago and were finalized on Wednesday.
In addition to its patients, Walgreens will also welcome the staff of the shuttered Kmart Pharmacy.
Inside the territory’s last Kmart, a poster hung next to the counter of the now-closed pharmacy. On it was a letter signed by Dr. Aya Assebian and “The Grateful Staff of the Last Kmart Pharmacy Standing.”
“Collectively, our team — Ms. Gabriel ‘Gabby,’ Avril ‘Avo,’ Shamika ‘Sham Sham,’ Viola ‘Esther,’ and Dr. Aya Assebian ‘DOC’ — has spent 30 years standing by your side,” the letter stated. “This is not the story of a sinking ship but of Turning Tides; which will be the beginning of a new chapter. As the Last Kmart Pharmacy closes its doors, our commitment to you continues.”
While the letter did not provide a reason for the closure, it did state that the staff would now be able to serve the community “with even greater resources and opportunities.”
An example of these are the vaccinations, the representative said, adding that Walgreens customers can receive on-site vaccinations, a service the Kmart Pharmacy no longer provided.
This move comes more than a decade after Walgreens announced it would acquire the prescription files and inventory from 33 Kmart pharmacies and transfer them to nearby Walgreens pharmacies. The Virgin Islands locations were not included in the 2012 announcement, which listed the 16 states where the 33 Kmart pharmacies were located.
WTJX attempted to speak with Kmart’s manager about the pharmacy closure but was unable to reach him as of publication time.
