With no place to fill a prescription in Coupeville, officials at Whidbey General Hospital are looking at whether it makes sense to open a retail pharmacy.

Linds Pharmacy in Coupeville was sold to Rite Aid, which closed it last month.

Linds sold its pharmacy in Freeland to Rite Aid last year.

Whidbey General Hospital is launching a study in the next few months to see what it would take to open one at the hospital, said Chief Executive Officer Geri Forbes during a board meeting Monday.

Forbes cautioned that there’s no profit to be made in running a pharmacy. Chain pharmacies such as Walgreens make most of their money selling other products.

Owners of Linds Pharmacy told the hospital they’d struggled financially the past seven years as consumers were being pushed to purchase prescriptions online at lower costs.

“There’s no margin in pharmacy anymore,” Forbes said.

Her preliminary research nationwide showed most public hospitals have opted not to open a retail pharmacy because they would have had to approach voters to help pay.

“I would love to find some sort of something that would allow people in Coupeville to get prescriptions in a timely manner,” said Nancy Fey, a hospital board member and retired pharmacist. Fey and her husband owned Island Drug in Oak Harbor. She also worked at the hospital’s pharmacy, which dispenses drugs to patients.

With the purchase of the Coupeville Linds Pharmacy, the Oak Harbor Rite Aid is currently offering free prescription delivery to Coupeville-area customers.

Island Drug also offers free island-wide delivery.

The hospital’s study may find some way to let Coupeville residents get faster access to medications, Fey said.

Fey praised hospital leadership for exploring solutions.

“I understand it’s an inconvenience not to have one,” she said. “I doubt Coupeville could financially support one.”