WBEZ Chicago, January 24, 2018.
You’ve heard of food deserts — often low-income neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a grocery store. Now another service desert is on the rise in these same neighborhoods: pharmacy deserts. As pharmacies slowly begin to close down on Chicago’s South and West sides, residents are finding it harder to access needed medication.
So why are pharmacies closing up shop and what factors are exacerbating the problem for patients?