Tim Wentworth, former CEO of Express Scripts.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Incoming Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth on Thursday briefly praised the corporate’s pharmacy staff, however made no mention of the three-day protest walkouts they held this week over poor working situations.
The walkouts mirror rising dissatisfaction amongst pharmacy staff, who’ve complained for years about having to grapple with understaffing and burdensome work expectations imposed by company administration. The Covid-19 pandemic worsened these points, with new duties such as testing and vaccinations stretching staff even thinner.
The rising labor strain is only one of a number of challenges Wentworth must face when he steps into the chief government position on Oct. 23.
He may also need to grapple with a revenue squeeze because of falling demand for Covid products and Walgreens’ rocky transition from being a significant drugstore chain to a big health-care firm.
Wentworth, through the firm’s earnings name Thursday, shared a narrative about how an worker at a retailer in Rochester, New York, “professionally and cheerfully” helped ship a vital medicine prescription for his mom.
“It was the sort of expertise I recognize and everybody deserves,” Wentworth mentioned in his first remarks as incoming CEO since Walgreens introduced his appointment on Tuesday.
He mentioned dedicated pharmacists and different group members can collectively “enhance the lives of every one that walks by means of our door in my mother’s hometown Walgreens in Rochester, and in each retailer we function.”
The experiences he has had with staff made his determination to hitch Walgreens “frankly, a simple one,” Wentworth added.
His remarks partly echoed a press release the corporate issued earlier this week in response to the walkouts.
A Walgreens spokesperson touted the corporate’s pharmacy groups within the assertion, noting that they work “tirelessly to serve our communities.”
But the spokesperson additionally acknowledged that the “previous couple of years have required an unprecedented effort from our group members.”
Walgreens is engaged and listening to the considerations of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, the spokesperson mentioned.
But it is unclear whether or not administration has made any modifications in response to any of these staff’ calls for, which embrace extra staff, payroll transparency, advance discover of staff and schedule modifications and necessary coaching for brand spanking new hires, amongst different gadgets.
In addition to filling and verifying prescriptions, pharmacy staff usually need to juggle affected person cellphone calls, administer a rising variety of vaccines this fall, work with insurance coverage corporations on points such as copays and reimbursements, carry out speedy Covid and flu testing and cope with offended clients who’re seeing longer wait instances because of understaffing.