Workers clean up the mess left behind by Hurricane Helene inside Walgreen’s on North Green Street in Morganton.
When Hurricane Helene swept through Burke County Friday morning, Sept. 27, it left thousands without power, upended daily routines, and posed unique challenges for local pharmacies.
Jessi Stout, head pharmacist and owner of Table Rock Pharmacy in Morganton, and one employee who hadn’t seen the notice to stay home, weathered the storm inside the pharmacy. “I arrived around 7:30 a.m., which was before all the trees started falling, and so it was safer for us to stay there than drive back home. Luckily, the only damage we had at the pharmacy was the loss of all our paneling and a broken window.”
Stout stated, “When, thankfully, our power came back on Friday afternoon we opened our doors and allowed patients to pick up prescriptions and to charge their phones.”
For Jeff Czarkowski head pharmacist of Clinic Drug located at 106 Linville St in hard-hit Glen Alpine, the loss of power the morning of the storm presented a major challenge: keeping vaccines, insulin, and other refrigerated medication cool. “I used some camping coolers from home to store medication on ice and then insulated them in bubble wrap,” Czarkowski said. “I figured with all the trees and power lines down that it could be a while before we got power back at the pharmacy so I emptied our staff mini fridge and was able to take it to the [Glen Alpine] fire department where it could get power and proper storage for our medication. Finally, on Sunday, I drove all the way to Raleigh to buy a generator and on Monday I was able to get it running and open the pharmacy to start fulfilling prescriptions,” Czarkowski continued.
Similarly, Bruce Cannon owner and head pharmacist of Cannon and Rock drug stores in Morganton and Valdese, shared that he stored refrigerated medicine at his home, which was powered by a generator until the store regained power.
For many pharmacies without power and internet access, processing orders and prescriptions was impossible, forcing them to adapt. “When the power went out Friday, we still gave patients their medications based on the labels of their bottles,” Stout shared. “We just wrote down their credit card information to ring out later.”
Another major challenge was contacting doctors to fill prescriptions. Cannon explained that the power outage and lack of cell service meant staff could not access patients’ prescription records, and, initially, doctors’ offices were closed. He noted that in North Carolina, pharmacists are authorized to issue an emergency refill during natural disasters if the patient’s primary care provider is not available and if the medication is essential for maintaining the patient’s health.
Stout praised Tracy Chapman, NP, for his assistance during the crisis. “Chapman was great. He let us call him on his cell phone for any prescriptions needed for any patients of the three prescribers at his office, which was without power for over a week. He was working from a hotspot on his phone and still sent prescriptions within five minutes of us asking,” she said.
Thankfully supply chain issues didn’t significantly impact most pharmacists. Cannon praised his provider saying, “We were regularly sent supplies along with medication allowing us to share water, food, and supplements to help our community in the first days of recovery.”
East Burke Drugstore in Hildebran wasn’t as lucky. Over the first weekend of recovery, supply issues persisted as the pharmacy struggled to receive shipments from its Atlanta-based supplier. Pharmacy manager Leigh Anne Abernathy shared, “We had to stretch out medication and partially fulfill prescriptions until we got more supplies in.”
Many pharmacies in Burke County have begun sending supplies to pharmacies in harder-hit areas in Western North Carolina. Both Cannon and Czarkowski are sending Benadryl to Boone where the need has increased. “Because so many trees were taken down by the storm bee colonies have become agitated, leading to an increase in stings among workers who are clearing debris,” Czarkowski said.
Stout shared that Table Rock Pharmacy is partnering with local Drs. Anne Gonzalez and Rachel Kelly to donate medication for Operation Airdrop, a nonprofit organization that provides supplies to hurting communities after natural disasters, operating out of the Hickory Airport.
“I connected with other pharmacy owners across the state who also make significant donations of medications to this organization. We have started collecting unopened, in-date medications to donate—medications patients have but do not need,” Stout said
Nathanael Eure is an intern with The Paper. He may be reached at 828-445-8595 or nathanael@thepaper.media.
