Denver7 Story: 'My prescription was in purgatory': Pharmacy staff shortages leave Coloradans without medicine

DENVER — It's a worker shortage that could be bad for your health. Our Contact Denver7 team keeps hearing from people desperate to get the medicine they need but struggling to get prescriptions filled.

The bottom line is Colorado needs more pharmacists and pharmacy techs, but, until then, patients are paying the price.

When Christina Cimino couldn't stop coughing last Friday, she went to urgent care. They called in a prescription to her local Walgreens in Northglenn. 

"I go to call them to check if my prescription is ready Friday night, and the pharmacy is closed," Cimino said. "I'm like, 'You got to be kidding me.' So, I call again — pharmacy is closed."

It turns out that her Walgreens posted new hours, and it was closed at 6 p.m. Friday and for the entire weekend. On top of that, she said they could not transfer her prescription to another Walgreens.

"My prescription was in purgatory. They see it in the system, but they can't release it because it's a narcotic. It's stuck at this particular location," Cimino said. "So, I spent the whole weekend coughing my brains out, and, honestly, I just want to breathe. I really just want to breathe."

Read full article and see interview with CPS Executive Director, Emily Zadvorny.