Goodall Hospital will close June Street Pharmacy unit

SANFORD – Goodall Hospital will close its June Street Pharmacy unit Nov. 1 and transfer prescriptions to Rite Aid Pharmacy.

Patients can continue to fill prescriptions and pick up renewable prescriptions through Nov. 1, Goodall said.

On Nov. 2, renewable prescriptions will automatically be available at the Springvale Rite Aid, Goodall said. The store on Main Street is less than 3 miles from Goodall Hospital.

Goodall said it has offered retail pharmacy services as a community benefit for the past six years, but found it difficult to compete against full-service retail pharmacies that offered a wider range of services. The hospital said its resources could be better focused on its mission of meeting the community’s health care needs.

Patients are being notified of closing of the pharmacy.

The pharmacy staff, which includes nine full-time and five part-time employees, has been notified and Goodall is working with them to identify new jobs, both at the hospital and externally.

U.S. stock indexes close largely unchanged Thursday

NEW YORK – U.S. stock indexes closed largely unchanged Thursday, with the S&P 500 index just managing to halt a losing streak, as cheer about a decline in jobless claims dissipated.

Uncertainty ahead of the U.S. presidential election less than a month away is a likely contributor to Wall Street’s stall.

Once “the results are in, then everybody can make plans accordingly. That clarity of at least that portion of the road ahead will be reacted to positively” regardless who wins, said Tim Leach, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

Extending losses into a fourth session, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.58 points, or 0.1 percent, to 13,326.39, with Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. among rising components.

Quarterly earnings are expected Friday from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo & Co., with the latter expected to report a record profit.

Just managing to halt losses at four sessions, the S&P 500 rose a fraction to end at 1,432.84.

Down for a fifth session in its longest string of losses in three months, the Nasdaq composite lost 2.37 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 3,049.41.

U.S. Postal Service to raise postage rates on Jan. 27

WASHINGTON – It’ll cost another penny to mail a letter next year.

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service said Thursday that it will raise postage rates on Jan. 27, including a 1-cent increase in the cost of first-class mail to 46 cents.

It also will introduce a new global forever stamp, allowing customers to mail letters anywhere in the world for one set price of $1.10.

Under the law, the post office cannot raise prices more than the rate of inflation, or 2.6 percent. The mail agency, which expects to lose a record $15 billion this year, has asked Congress to give it new authority to raise stamp prices by 5 cents, but the House has yet to act.

The Postal Service also will increase rates on priority mail shipping, by 4 percent.

— From news service reports