America-Loving Wal-Mart Expands In-Store Health Clinics

http://www.newsmax.com/money/Wal-Mart_Expands_In-Store/2008/02/07/70793.html

Wal-Mart Expands In-Store Health Clinics

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open its first in-store medical clinics under its

own brand name after leasing space in dozens of stores to outside companies

that operate the quick-service health stops.

The world's largest retailer said Thursday it will open "The Clinic at

Wal-Mart" as a joint venture with local hospital systems in Atlanta, Dallas

and Little Rock, Ark., starting in April.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart is among several U.S. supermarket and drug

store chains that in the past couple of years have begun opening store-based

health clinics, which are staffed mostly by nurse practitioners or physician

assistants and offer quick service for routine conditions from colds and

bladder infections to sunburn.

About 7 percent of Americans have tried a clinic at least once, according to

an estimate by the Convenient Care Association, an industry trade group

formed in 2006.

That number is expected to increase dramatically, as chains like Wal-Mart,

CVS Corp., Target Corp. and Walgreen Co. partner with mini-clinic providers

like RediClinic and MinuteClinic to expand operations. The trade group

estimates there will be more than 1,500 by year-end, up from about 800 in

November.

Wal-Mart has clinics in 77 stores, including nine in Wisconsin and Florida

operated by local hospitals. Clinics in 23 locations in Florida and three

other Southern states have been in limbo since last month when New

York-based CheckUps shut down.

Now Wal-Mart has signed a letter of intent to work with local hospital

systems and RediClinic to open cobranded walk-in clinics in 200 Wal-Mart

Supercenters.

Wal-Mart has also signed a letter of intent to partner directly with St.

Vincent Health System, a part of the Catholic Healthcare Initiatives system,

to open four cobranded clinics in Little Rock.

Co-branding means the clinics will jointly bear the names of Wal-Mart and

its partners and have an identical look, prices and record keeping system,

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said.

Having the local hospital system involved will also increase the level of

trust among shoppers, Galberth said.

Wal-Mart said this is the first step toward opening 400 cobranded clinics by

2010.

Retail analyst Patricia Edwards of San Francisco-based Wentworth Hauser and

Violich said the move benefits Wal-Mart by giving the clinics added

credibility.

"Especially among middle- and upper-income shoppers, it becomes more like

stopping in at any location of their group health care provider. It doesn't

have that connotation of going cheap," Edwards said.

Edwards said putting Wal-Mart's name on the clinics also fits with the

retailer's drive for a public role in health care to counter union-led

criticism that it skimps on employee health insurance.

Wal-Mart has introduced the clinics as well as $4 prescriptions for some

generic medicines, and Chief Executive Lee Scott pledged last month to find

other ways to help cut health care costs, including promoting the use of

electronic health records instead of paper files.

"HarryNadds" <hoofhearted07@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:111e8ac2-feee-413d-a396-9dacee93382f@q39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

On Feb 7, 6:26 am, "Patriot Games" <Patr...@America.com> wrote:

>> http://www.newsmax.com/money/Wal-Mart_Expands_In-Store/2008/02/07/707...

>> Wal-Mart Expands In-Store Health Clinics

>> Thursday, February 7, 2008

>They see a gold mine on the horizon with another 30 million + illegals

>headed this way.Just look at the potential Wal-Mart health center

>customers crowding the hospital emergency room now.The illegals use

>them as their own private health clinic.Maybe wally mart will take

>some of the load off the publicly funded hospitals and legal residents

>can actually get emergency help if needed.What a concept.

Somebody had to do something. Nobody else did anything.

"HarryNadds" <hoofhearted07@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:28886cda-bae0-4627-aa0a-919300815887@m34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

On Feb 7, 10:21 am, "Patriot Games" <Patr...@America.com> wrote:

>> "HarryNadds" <hoofhearte...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

>> news:111e8ac2-feee-413d-a396-9dacee93382f@q39g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...

>> On Feb 7, 6:26 am, "Patriot Games" <Patr...@America.com> wrote:

>> >>http://www.newsmax.com/money/Wal-Mart_Expands_In-Store/2008/02/07/707...

>> >> Wal-Mart Expands In-Store Health Clinics

>> >> Thursday, February 7, 2008

>> >They see a gold mine on the horizon with another 30 million + illegals

>> >headed this way.Just look at the potential Wal-Mart health center

>> >customers crowding the hospital emergency room now.The illegals use

>> >them as their own private health clinic.Maybe wally mart will take

>> >some of the load off the publicly funded hospitals and legal residents

>> >can actually get emergency help if needed.What a concept.

>> Somebody had to do something. Nobody else did anything.

>I agree.Our liberal mayor here in Houston has no problem with the

>Harris county taxpayers funding free healthcare for illegals. People

>on fixed incomes can't hardly afford to live in their houseseven

>though they're paid for because of the high taxes.Thats why we have

>over a million of them here.It's gonna get a lot worse before it gets

>better.The illegals are flooding in here from Oklahoma since Oklahoma

>passed new immigration laws and are enforcing them.

Arizona's new tougher laws are also pushing illegals into Texas.

You don't have high taxes. It just seems like you do. Once these several

million illegals in Texas get amnesty-citizenship you'll be begging to have

the taxes you have now!

On Thu, 7 Feb 2008 07:26:38 -0500, "Patriot Games"

<Patriot@America.com> wrote:

>http://www.newsmax.com/money/Wal-Mart_Expands_In-Store/2008/02/07/70793.html

>

>Wal-Mart Expands In-Store Health Clinics

>

>Thursday, February 7, 2008

>

>Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open its first in-store medical clinics under its

>own brand name after leasing space in dozens of stores to outside companies

>that operate the quick-service health stops.

Oh boy - McClinics. I can see the checkout line now - 2 tootsie rolls,

3 bags of chips, 2 appendectomies, and a brain scan. Talk about from

cradle to grave. And you folks feel this is good news - why?

WB Yeats