CVS Health is planning to remake hundreds of stores into healthcare outlets devoted to primary care.
The locations would combine to be capable of serving thousands of patients a day, Fortune reports, citing a recent Zoom call with CVS CEO Karen Lynch, who outlined the plans.
“We’ll be far more than the corner drugstore,” Lynch told Fortune. “We’re pivoting to become more central to America’s healthcare."
The company has already been moving in the direction of offering more comprehensive healthcare services at its retail locations. Since just before the coronavirus pandemic, CVS has rolled out HealthHUB wellness and healthcare centers nationwide.
"We continue to focus on our integrated platform to expand access to care that is local, affordable and connected," Lynch said during the company's most recent earnings call in August. "HealthHUBs represent one of many channels and lower-cost sites of care that allows us to address individual health needs."
CVS' rivals in the pharmacy trade have likewise been expanding their healthcare options. Walgreens Boots Alliance has said it will open 500 to 700 clinics at its retail location in 30 U.S. markets over the next five years, in partnership with VillageMD, a Chicago-based primary care provider. The clinics will include doctors on staff.
Besides revamping its retail operations to be more clinic-like, CVS Health has also been investing in affordable housing developments nationwide in recent years, which the company characterizes as part of its corporate social responsibility strategy.
In 2020, the company invested over $114M in affordable housing, up from $75M in 2019. The company's investments that year involved the construction or rehabilitation of more than 2,800 affordable housing units in 30 cities.
CVS Health's investments in affordable housing have continued this year. Most recently, the company announced it will invest $22M with R4 Capital to build 224 affordable housing units in Louisiana.
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