County employees and community groups press supervisors to halt health‑service layoffs as pharmacy closures loom

Dozens of county health and social‑services employees, union representatives and community groups told the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on May 12 that proposed workforce reductions — including plans to close county pharmacies in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria — would be devastating for patients who rely on discounted or free medications.

"Our pharmacy provides low‑cost and often free medication to qualified patients," said Dr. Audrey Wyn, pharmacist in charge at the county pharmacy in Santa Barbara, describing the clinic as "the safety net" for patients who face language, transportation and financial barriers. She warned that closure would lead to missed doses, hospitalizations and other preventable crises.

Multiple speakers described how county pharmacies offer services unavailable elsewhere — confidential 340B pricing, patient education and assistance with enrollment — and stressed that eliminating local pharmacies would shift costs to emergency care. "If our pharmacy closed, these patients will not have nowhere else to turn," said Leticia Clay, a pharmacy technician with two decades at county clinics.

County staff and union leaders said the layoffs are part of broader proposed cuts in the County Health and Social Services budgets. SEIU Local 620 representatives and other speakers urged the board to use strategic reserves or seek alternatives to layoffs. "These layoffs are not inevitable. They are a choice," said Laura Robinson, executive director of SEIU Local 620.

In public comment, county pharmacy leadership argued the closures could be a false economy. Dr. Trong No (presented as "Trano"/"Trang No" in the meeting), the county pharmacy director, told the board the pharmacies generate substantial revenue and that the claimed savings from closures may overstate net fiscal benefit: "The pharmacy alone revenue exceeds $8.5 million annually," he said, arguing that closure would eliminate both expense and substantial revenue and that the net saving claimed in staff documents did not reflect that revenue stream.

Board members acknowledged the gravity of the comments. Chair Nelson thanked employees and advocates and pledged to "take these issues very seriously" as budget work continues. Several supervisors asked staff for more fiscal detail; Supervisor Caps urged additional reporting on how service changes would affect access for immigrant and farmworker communities.

What comes next: the board is preparing final budget decisions in the coming weeks; staff was asked to provide more analysis on the human‑service impacts and on alternative fiscal strategies before any layoffs proceed.

Why it matters: county pharmacies and clinic labs provide safety‑net care to uninsured and low‑income residents; the employees who spoke described both immediate patient harm (missed medications, delayed care) and longer‑term system strain (more emergency admissions and higher downstream costs) if services are reduced.