Rural Pharmacist Cites Strain, Key Role Amid Pandemic

20 percent of Americans live in rural areas, and many rely on struggling independent pharmacies for health care

Pharmacist Ashley Brehme reaches for a pill bottle at the pharmacy she owns in Manchester, Iowa, on Jan. 16, 2021. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times

MANCHESTER, Iowa—Since the pandemic hit in March 2020, the workload has greatly increased for the pharmacists and technicians at Brehme Drug in Manchester, a rural town of some 5,000 people in eastern Iowa.

“They call you up and say, ‘Help! Explain this to me,’” pharmacist Cathy Lilienthal told The Epoch Times. She has worked at the store for 35 years and knows many patients by their first names.