Baker City to get second pharmacy Monday after year-long wait

Baker City residents who have spent more than a year depending on a single pharmacy option will get a second place to fill prescriptions Monday, June 22. Baker City Pharmacy is set to open at 2055 1st Street, Suite 103, in the former Pioneer Bank building at First and Broadway streets, a change that could quickly matter for people who have faced long lines and delays at the counter.

The opening is more than a routine business addition in a town this size. Baker City had 10,099 residents in the 2020 Census, Baker County had 16,668, and the county stretches across about 3,088 square miles. In a place that spread out, a limited pharmacy network can turn into a transportation problem as much as a medical one, especially for seniors, families and anyone who cannot easily drive across town or out of county for a refill.

The pressure on local pharmacies has been visible before. After the Bi-Mart pharmacy counter closed, about 1,500 prescriptions were transferred to the remaining pharmacies in Baker County. One Baker City resident with rheumatoid arthritis said she once waited more than two hours just to refill medication. For people who rely on chronic prescriptions, antibiotics, or emergency refills before travel, another pharmacy should help ease some of that strain by reducing wait times and giving residents another place to transfer prescriptions.

Still, the new store is unlikely to solve every access problem by itself. A 2023 community health needs assessment for Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker County found residents reported long waitlists, limited pharmacy services and difficulty accessing specialty care. The assessment also said Baker County has about 65 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents, below Oregon’s average of 109. Many residents still travel to larger cities in Idaho or farther west in Oregon for care, which means pharmacy access remains tied to a much bigger health-care gap.

Baker City Pharmacy says it is bringing the team behind Red Cross Drug Store in La Grande to Baker City. The business is listed as TRUE CARE RX LLC and has been active since Oct. 24, 2025. Renovation and permitting delays pushed the opening from an earlier target in mid-February to mid-June, making Monday’s launch the end of a long rollout.

The pharmacy opening comes after other local health services have narrowed. Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City closed its birthing center in late August 2023 after a decline in local deliveries and a staffing shortage, deepening concern about how much care remains close to home. A second pharmacy will not fix Baker County’s health-care shortage, but for prescription access in Baker City, it is a meaningful step toward less waiting and more resilience.