Walgreens in Saranac Lake is seen here on November 22. (Company photo – Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE – The pharmacy counter at the Saranac Lake Walgreens will be temporarily closed Friday.

Although a sign on the front door of the building last week initially stated that the pharmacy would close on December 2 due to a “staff shortage”, Walgreens spokesperson Sami Stansberry said this week that the actual closing date is Friday.

The store remains open for other over-the-counter medications. But until the pharmacy manager position is filled, people will have to drive to the chain’s Lake Placid location to pick up their prescriptions from the company.

Managers and employees at the store said last week they could not talk to the press about the details. Stansberry said she has no details on what caused the staffing shortage, or when the store might reopen the pharmacy counter.

The sign on the door states that the Saranac Lake and Lake Placid stores share a central profile system so that medication scripts can be transferred to that location by Lake Placid employees when contacted. The Lake Placid store number is 518-523-5305.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” it says on the board.

People with automatic prescription refills will have their scripts automatically transferred to the Lake Placid location.

“All prescriptions are transferred automatically,” Stansberry said.

If a drug is a controlled substance, the sign says people should talk to their doctor to have the script sent to the Lake Placid Walgreens.

Last month, Walgreens announced it planned to close about 1,200 of its 8,500 locations over the next year as several major pharmacy chains scale back their presence.

Stansberry said there are no current plans to close Saranac Lake Walgreens.