By Brian Shane

Staff Writer

(Aug. 13, 2026) Worcester County officials are willing to sit down to discuss how to restore Snow Hill Pharmacy’s longtime jail business, as long as the pharmacy owner can resume negotiations with the jail’s medical contractor.

“We really want to sit around the table and do true collaboration to make this work for the best interests of everybody,” Town Manager Rick Pollitt said at the Snow Hill Town Council’s July 28 work session.

Pollitt said three county commissioners are willing to take part in a meeting with town, pharmacy, and community representatives. He did not name them, saying County Administrator Weston Young gave him the update during a nearly two-hour meeting July 24.

In December, CFG Health took over as the contracted health care provider at the Worcester County Jail. Pharmacy services were included in its contract.

Upon taking over, the company continued using Snow Hill Pharmacy for several months. But by late May, after months of payment and contract disputes, the arrangement collapsed.

Pollitt told the council that the pharmacy and CFG had exchanged proposals but remained “miles apart” before Snow Hill Pharmacy owner Jeff Sherr ended negotiations.

Sherr disputed that characterization. In a July 9 interview, he said CFG had fallen more than $100,000 behind on its bills, forcing the pharmacy to borrow against a line of credit to pay its own suppliers.

Sherr said he notified CFG on May 20 that the pharmacy would no longer extend credit and would instead require payment upon delivery. CFG then moved the jail’s prescriptions to Correct Rx, a national pharmacy company it uses at other correctional facilities.

“I’m not turning down the fact that we’re willing to fill the prescriptions,” Sherr said. “I’m just saying, ‘I’m not giving you any more credit because you’ve exhausted everything that I can do.’”

Even then, Sherr said he remained willing to resume doing business with CFG under workable terms, despite expecting a strained relationship.

“There’s gotta be a compromise that we can come up with that would make it a win-win for everybody,” he said. “It’s not who gets the better end of the deal, but how do we create a win-win?”

Before the county changed medical contractors, Snow Hill Pharmacy billed Worcester County directly for inmate medications under a handshake deal struck with a former warden.

Pollitt said Young told him the county could not simply restore that arrangement because the service would now have to be put out for bid.

“Of course, the concern was that if Snow Hill Pharmacy had to bid against some of the larger chains, it would be a challenge for them,” Pollitt said.

The county also remains concerned about after-hours access to medications.

Pollitt said inmates may have to be transported to a hospital or another medical facility when the pharmacy is closed at night or on weekends, requiring correctional officers to leave the jail as escorts.

If Sherr can address the 24/7 service issue, it could represent “a big step forward” in reviving negotiations, Pollitt said.

Sherr said his Apple Discount Drugs in Fruitland already has pharmacists on call to serve Coastal Hospice.

“If that’s what they need, then we could continue to do that,” Sherr said. “It wouldn’t be a problem.”

At the July 28 meeting, Councilman Aaron Lumpkins questioned why the lack of around-the-clock service had become an obstacle after the pharmacy supplied the jail for nearly three decades.

“The 24/7 seems to be the issue they’re sitting on, but it wasn’t an issue for 27 years,” Lumpkins said. “This doesn’t make sense.”

Pollitt said he planned to meet with Sherr first. If Sherr agrees to reopen negotiations, the town would begin arranging the larger meeting. Only one Snow Hill council member would attend to avoid creating a quorum. Councilman Ethan Shockley volunteered to represent the town.

In the meantime, Snow Hill Pharmacy has made a change to a planned two-day reduction in operating hours, which Sherr announced in anticipation of losing revenue from the jail business.

The store previously announced it would close Wednesdays and Saturdays beginning Aug. 1. However, Sherr has since decided to continue operating on Saturdays based on customer feedback. The Market Street storefront will remain closed on Wednesdays.