WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health is actively preparing for Tropical Storm Elsa’s impending landfall along the Florida coast. The chain said that their priority is the safety of its employees, customers and members, and they are committed to providing communities access to the products and services need to prepare for the storm.

“CVS Pharmacy locations comply with all local evacuation orders and we’ll re-open any closed stores as soon as it is safe to do so. If a store is forced to close for two or more days, the pharmacy’s phone lines will be rerouted to a nearby open location so patients may continue to access their prescriptions,” said the company in statement.

The chain said is it encouraging customers who have scheduled a COVID-19 vaccination or a COVID-19 test at any of our stores in the area to call the store to confirm availability.

“As Tropical Storm Elsa approaches the coast of Florida, CVS Pharmacy has been reaching out to its patients via text message and email where possible to remind them to refill prescriptions. In addition, through CVS Caremark, CVS Health’s pharmacy benefit manager, the company has activated a process to provide one-time emergency refills of a 10-day supply of medication for plan members in impacted areas. Patients within the emergency area taking specialty medications filled by CVS Specialty will be contacted to discuss alternate delivery arrangements, if needed. And through our Aetna Business Unit, our clinical response teams have expanded their engagement with Medicare and Commercial members in potentially impacted counties in Florida to ensure member safety, access to emergency services and continuity of care,” said the company.

CVS Health also offers the following tips for assuring prescription needs are met for those potentially impacted by Tropical Storm Elsa:

• Follow local evacuation orders. Get to a safe location first and refill your medications at the nearest pharmacy. This allows patients to avoid potentially long lines at their local pharmacy, and won’t need to needlessly delay  their evacuation.
• Take a waterproof bag with your current medication — even if the bottle is empty. The information on the prescription label will help pharmacy staff with refill requests. Heat, humidity and sunlight can degrade the effectiveness of medicine, so try to protect it from extreme weather conditions.
• Keep a written record of your current prescriptions in your valuable paper files. If taking several prescription drugs, it’s an especially good idea to keep a record of  current dosage and doctor’s contact information.