October 9, 2024

MedicalCentre

Great Health is a Choice

CVS pharmacist Ashleigh Anderson’s death at work becomes rallying cry

CVS pharmacist Ashleigh Anderson’s death at work becomes rallying cry

On the morning she died, Ashleigh Anderson researched her symptoms.

Nausea.

Jaw pain.

Chest pain.

Cold sweats.

“I think I am having a heart attack,” the 41-year-old texted her longtime boyfriend from the CVS store in Seymour, Indiana, where she had just begun her shift as the sole pharmacist on duty.

It was Sept. 10, 2021. Retail pharmacy was reeling from the pressures of the pandemic, and frontline workers like Anderson were dangerously burned out. For months, they had been filling prescriptions and vaccinating patients without bathroom breaks or a bite to eat.