The number of pharmacies across Virginia is declining—especially in rural areas. And while proposed legislation to support pharmacies in communities without them has been tabled by the Virginia House of Delegates, one Scottsville man is working feverishly to bring a drug store back to his hometown. WMRA’s Christine Kueter reports.
[sound of James River rushing by Scottsville]
Eddie Payne was just 17 when he and a friend paddled their canoe right through the front of Bruce’s Drug Store.
The year was 1969, and Hurricane Camille was quickly submerging Scottsville’s downtown. Payne had already lost his sneakers unbolting church pews from the floor to try to save them. He also wanted to rescue photos from the drug store, where plate glass windows had been shattered by the rising water.
It was a moment for action, Payne recalled. Kind of like now.
EDDIE PAYNE: Well, you know, you can’t sit back and wait. You’ve got to do something, and that’s what I’m trying to do now.
Today, Payne is 73 and wants to save Scottsville again, this time, by bringing back a community pharmacy.
PAYNE: Scottsville’s got a 200-year history of being a healthcare hub. In the early days, in the 1800s, especially, we were an economic hub and a transportation hub for southern Albemarle, western Fluvanna County, northern Buckingham, even a little piece of Nelson, and, of course, the town of Scottsville. Of those 200 years, for 150 years we had a drug store here. And now we don’t.
Nearly 18% of Americans live in a "pharmacy desert," according to a 2025 study published in the Journals of the American Medical Association. In rural areas, that means there’s no pharmacy within 10 miles. Virginia had 99 fewer community pharmacies in 2025 than it did in 2020, which contributed to 51 pharmacy deserts across the state.
Scottsville is one. It’s hit local seniors hard.
PAYNE: It’s so many reasons why a small neighborhood drugstore is important to a town this size. … Twenty-five percent of our population is over 65, senior citizens. The median age of the residents is 49, as opposed to the state median of 39, so even the young people are older, if you can grasp that.
Scottsville had an apothecary in the early 1800s, but it was Bruce’s Drug Store and, later, Scottsville Pharmacy, a few doors away, where locals got health advice, over-the-counter medicines, vaccines, and had their prescriptions filled.
When Scottsville’s last community pharmacy closed in 2023, a Rite Aid opened in the strip mall near the Food Lion. But it, too, closed last May, when its parent company filed for bankruptcy.
PAYNE: That’s kind of hard. We all missed it . . . we were all very sad and knew that it was going to be a hardship to get our, at least our short-term prescriptions, like I was talking about, for antibiotics, etc., that you need today. Yeah, it was a loss to our community.
JUSTIN VESSER: Not that many years ago, the pharmacist, a pharmacist, community pharmacist at a pharmacy, was the most accessible healthcare professional to most people.
Pharmacist Justin Vesser oversees UVa Health’s nine community and 11 clinic pharmacies.
VESSER: People only see the value in, “how can I get the medications that I need in the cheapest, most convenient way possible?” Which, yes, you need to have access to your medications, you need to be able to afford it, but you also need to know how to use it. You also need to know, “Is this the right thing for me?” Someone who knows you, who talks to you every month, who has your profile on their computer, so they can say, “Oh, yes, your doctor, your specialist, has prescribed this but they don’t know that you’re also on something else that would have an interaction with it, or might be dangerous.” They don’t know what type of things you use over the counter. … That’s really what the value of a retail pharmacy is. It’s a healthcare professional that you can walk in and talk to and get expert advice from and direct care. When those dry up in rural areas, those patients are often left with no alternative.
According to the JAMA study, more than two-thirds of American adults use at least one medication, 90% of which are filled at community pharmacies. Many, like Payne, can get regular prescriptions by mail, but delays and mailed medications’ exposure to temperature extremes mean it’s not foolproof.
[sound of backyard bird calls]
PAYNE: Besides the porch pirates that you have to deal with, or the packages that get mis-delivered . . . If mail order works, I think it’s good, but it’s not perfected yet.
Rural towns like Scottsville stood to benefit from House Bill 335, a pilot program that would offer grants to strengthen existing community pharmacies or establish them in pharmacy deserts. Though the bill was tabled February 6 when a subcommittee determined it lacked the necessary funding to get off the ground, a budget amendment that would offer $600,000 for the program remains in play.
Payne is not deterred.
He’s urging people in Scottsville and across Virginia to call their representatives to support rural pharmacies. He’s urging neighbors with retail properties to consider a low- or no-rent lease for a community pharmacy. And he’s looking into state grants and partnership opportunities with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Appalachian College of Pharmacy to draw talent to town.
PAYNE: I’m not going to give up. It’s my unfinished business.
Payne is also making plans to run for a fourth term as Scottsville town councilor this November.
