We've reported on neighborhood grocery stores closing down, leaving neighbors without cars no place they can walk to get groceries, but what about access to medications for some of Nashville's most vulnerable neighbors?
Dr. Shawn Pruitt opened a pharmacy this week inside the Neighborhood Health Clinic at Napier Place, solving what he called a "pharmacy desert."
It's called that because, with no pharmacies nearby, neighbors without cars were out of luck, even if they managed to see a doctor. Before Wednesday, the nearest pharmacy in the Napier area was a two mile walk away.
And this isn't the only location in Nashville where Pruitt said this has been a problem.
"You have large clusters of pedestrian traffic. That was the case even with my East Nashville store. There was nothing there until we came, so this is a citywide issue," Pruitt said.
Underserved communities in Nashville have constantly struggled with the availability of resources like clinics and grocery stores. In November, a neighborhood grocery store in the Edgehill community suddenly closed, leaving no walkable store for neighbors to buy groceries.
