Slashing expenditures and expenses over the past year has not been enough to stave off further downsizing at Hall’s Pharmacy.

    Warren Hall, Centralia pharmacist and owner of the locally owned business, recently laid off five employees.

    Centralia City Councilor Harlan Thompson was one of the employees to lose his job. He said the break-up was “amicable,” and tough decisions had to be made.

    “You have to cut some of your top people, and I was one of their top people,” Thompson said.

    Hall described the recent recession as an “equal opportunity oppressor.”

    “It’s not a whole lot different from what you see going on in Lewis County and in the news every day,” Hall said. “As you see the banking credit constrict, we’re operating on less money and at this point we’re trying to stay alive.”

    Turning a profit is not the problem for the local pharmacy, but rather having operating cash on hand.

    “We have to pay for our drugs and equipment every 10 days and wait 30 days to get paid,” Hall said about the waiting game that has to be played with the government and insurance companies.

    He said at any given time, his business has about $1.2 million in waiting. Since credit markets went sour, banks have allowed him to borrow less against the total.

    “What Warren Hall is experiencing is what other pharmacies are experiencing,” said Jeff Rochon, chief executive officer of the Renton-based Washington State Pharmacy Association. “They need to stock their shelves with expensive medications.”

    Rochon also expressed deep concern over the recent lowering of state reimbursement rates for Medicaid patients, which in conjunction with the economy is crippling pharmacies across the state.

    “The drastic nature of the cuts are devastating and impacting pharmacies and their patients,” he said.

    Since 2002, 100 out of 1,100 pharmacies in the state have closed their doors; 42 of those have closed since 2008, Rochon said. He is concerned things may get worse.

    On Sept. 26, several states including Washington dropped their reimbursement rates on the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) by 4 percent, a move that has caused drug store groups to sue Washington, New York and California.

    “Unfortunately many of the cuts our state has been making is in health care,” Rochon said, “and we’re deeply concerned about our ability to serve our communities.”

    He called the cuts “short-term financial decisions that have long-term ramifications.”

    Attempts to work with the state and come to any agreement that could remain “budget neutral” have gone disregarded, he said.

    Hall was uncertain whether he would have to make any future cuts. This latest round of cuts for the Centralia pharmacist came on top of the closure of his Cooks Hill Road location in April, cutting back hours and not filling vacancies.

    But he is hopeful that he’ll be able to bring back some of his staff and refill some positions in six months.

    “At some point in time they do end,” he said about previous economic downturns. “You just have to stay in business long enough and make the cuts necessary to be there in the end.”

Marqise Allen: (360) 807-8237