A customer uses the pharmacy Oct. 4, 2022 at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The Defense Health Agency is shuttering the location in the base mall, a little over two years since spending $3.2 million on its opening. (Johnny Foister/U.S. Air Force)
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — The Defense Health Agency is shuttering the satellite pharmacy in the base mall, a little over two years since spending $3.2 million to open a second pharmacy at Ramstein.
The pharmacy on the top floor of the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center will permanently close after June 14. That is the last day customers can pick up active prescriptions, said Whitney Trimble, a Defense Health Network Europe spokeswoman, in a statement Thursday.
Services prior to that will be reduced in phases. On May 4, Saturday hours will be eliminated. On June 6, the 86th Medical Group will take over operations at its main pharmacy, Trimble said.
The KMCC satellite pharmacy began filling prescriptions in late January 2022. At the time, Air Force officials at Ramstein said the project doubled the base’s pharmacy space. They cited an analysis that showed the main clinic pharmacy was about half as large as it needed to be to support customer volume and clinic staffing.
But a recent review found that the 86th Medical Group was capable of filling the prescriptions handled by the pharmacy, Trimble said.
“The Defense Health Network Europe routinely evaluates operations to ensure ready, reliable and effective care for our patients,” Trimble said in a statement about the closure. “After careful review of the 86th Medical Group’s operations, workload, and resources, we made the decision to close the KMCC Satellite Pharmacy and return all pharmacy operations to the main pharmacy within the Military Treatment Facility.”
From February 2023 to January 2024, the KMCC pharmacy filled 28,029 prescriptions, comprising about 28% of the 86th Medical Group’s total prescriptions.
About 50,000 Americans live in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, including service members, civilian workers, contractors and their families.
The satellite pharmacy allowed customers to fill and pick up prescriptions while shopping, going to the movies or eating out at the KMCC. Being open until 6 p.m. on most weekdays and Saturday hours gave swing-shift workers better access to pharmacy services, Air Force officials said in 2022.
Trimble said the Defense Health Network Europe is determining whether to expand pharmacy hours at other clinics. Starting July 1, the outpatient pharmacy at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center will open an hour earlier, at 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Eligible beneficiaries can save time waiting by activating prescriptions online or through the 24/7 ScriptCenter kiosk located in the hospital’s pharmacy lobby.
