USPS responds to mail issues; pharmacist suggests alternate option for medication delivery

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Families in the Fairfield’s area of Baton Rouge say they have been having major issues with mail delivery. Residents say it can often be days before they receive anything.

“We haven’t been getting any mail it has taken us four and five days to get our mail. Bills, medicine, and it’s just you know, we call every day, but they just have so many excuses,” said a resident on North Barrow Drive.

While WAFB spoke with residents, a postal worker began delivering mail.

“She said this is just the mail from last week, so we haven’t gotten the mail for this weekend. It’s just people not coming to work she said, and it’s bad on us,” said a resident.

“Each time I come, I wait in line for about 30 to 45 minutes before I’m waited on,” said Dr. Janice Mims.

Mims says she’s been to the post office multiple days looking for her mail.

“Yesterday, I was told that my mail is not here, the carrier is out on the route I was told the same thing on Saturday, and still no mail.”

Tons of folks headed to the Istrouma post office trying to find out why they are not getting their mail.

“I talk to my neighbors this morning and they were saying that that they haven’t received anything either,” Rickie Porter.

Porter says he has not received mail in two weeks; now his health could be jeopardy.

“I get all of my medicine mailed, and I haven’t been receiving any of that either,” said Porter.

“You’re looking at patients that have had at least a window or lag time of 7 days,” said Orlando Palmer.

Palmer is a pharmacist and co-owner of Parker’s Pharmacy in Baton Rouge. He says it is a concern that has become dangerous for folks with health issues.

“It’s kind of frustrating to hear a patient waiting on particular medications to arrive via the mail or the pharmacy and here it is now they’re not adhering because they have not received their medication in time. “We’ve had a large number honestly that have opted out of mail order. Most patients don’t realize that’s even an option; they can call their insurance company and opt-out of mail order so that they can receive their medications at the local pharmacy,” said Palmer.

Palmer also says a person can request their doctor to call in a short-day supply to your local pharmacy.

“The Postal Service plays an important role in this community and we are committed to advancing the mail in the most regular and safe way possible. While we do not share personnel information publicly, we can confirm that our workforce, like others, is not immune to the human impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We will continue flexing our available resources to match the workload and we are proud of the efforts of postal employees across Louisiana, and the nation, as they define essential public service every day.”

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