Walgreens 2013 Annual Report Download - page 10

8 2013 Walgreens Annual Report
Moore, Oklahoma, will never forget May 20, 2013. On that
day, the force of 200 mile-per-hour winds devastated
the community, killing or injuring hundreds of people.
Walgreens stores in the area were spared loss of life, but
not property damage. As soon as the danger had passed,
Walgreen employees in Moore and surrounding communities
began working together to rebuild.
Immediately after the tornado struck, the company donated
three semitrailers full of food, water and emergency supplies.
To make it easier for people in neighboring states to donate,
the company also set up a register donation program in which
customers in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma could choose to
make a cash donation to the American Red Cross. Walgreens
also mobilized its emergency trailer pharmacy to help Moore-
area residents get the lifesaving prescriptions, over-the-counter
items and medication advice they needed.
As a neighborhood health destination, Walgreens knows that
being able to reopen its stores quickly after a disaster is essential
to helping the community recover. The company’s Security
Operations Center in Deerfield, Illinois, monitors weather, news
reports and alarm systems so it can respond immediately to
natural or man-made threats. After Hurricane Sandy hit the
East Coast in October 2012, Walgreens stores were among
the first businesses to reopen, allowing customers to recharge
cell phone batteries, refill lost or damaged prescriptions and
purchase emergency supplies of food, water and batteries.
The same community pharmacy that’s open for customers’
midnight emergencies when other retailers aren’t prides itself
on being available during larger-scale emergencies as well.
Photographed above, Moore store manager Melissa Warde and
pharmacy technician Peyton Brooks were there to provide some
normalcy as the community recovered from the tornado.