DEERFIELD, Ill. & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) and VillageMD today announced plans to open eight new Village Medical at Walgreens coordinated primary care and pharmacy practices in the Tucson area in 2022, with the first opening on Feb. 8 at 7885 E. Speedway Blvd. These openings represent expansion into the second major market in Arizona, following Phoenix, and add to the growing number of locations in the state.
“By combining VillageMD’s expertise in primary care with Walgreens community presence and experienced pharmacy team, we’re able to better serve patients and make healthcare more accessible,” said Roseanna Nicoletti, M.D., a local Tucson physician at Village Medical. “This collaborative approach allows us to spend more time focused on providing high-quality care for patients and less time on administrative tasks.”
Village Medical at Walgreens practices in the Tucson area will create 285 full-time jobs and employ 140 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professionals, such as physicians, nurse practitioners, and medical assistants.1 Physicians and pharmacists are empowered to focus on providing patient care and achieving positive health outcomes.
Through the Walgreens and VillageMD coordinated care model, patients can receive care for chronic health conditions, as well as preventive services and treatment for everyday illnesses and injuries. Physicians and pharmacists collaborate closely to fill prescriptions immediately following medical visits, often at the same location, and ensure patients have ongoing access to support that helps them get and stay healthy.
“Tucson residents, and particularly patients who need ongoing care for chronic health conditions, will benefit from the collaboration between the primary care and pharmacy teams,” said Joseph Backlund, Walgreens pharmacist in the Tucson area. “Working with VillageMD physicians, Walgreens pharmacists can help ensure patients have continuous access to care and medication support and resources when and how they need it.”
More than 3 million Arizonans live in an area that does not have enough doctors to meet the medical needs of the people who live there.2 If current trends continue, the projected medical and productivity cost of chronic disease in 2030 is $8,200 per Arizona resident.3 Creating greater access to primary care provides residents better health outcomes in addition to expanded opportunities to interact with healthcare professionals.
VillageMD and Walgreens plan to open more than 200 Village Medical at Walgreens practices by the end of the year, including 81 locations that have already opened across 11 markets in Arizona, Florida, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) recently announced an increased investment in VillageMD to advance its strategic position in the delivery of value-based primary care. The investment will accelerate the opening of more than 600 Village Medical at Walgreens primary care and pharmacy practices in more than 30 U.S. markets by 2025 and 1,000 by 2027, with more than half of those practices in medically underserved communities.
Village Medical at Walgreens locations accept a wide range of health insurance options including Medicaid and Medicare in participating markets. Patients may access care and support through in-person, at-home and telehealth visits. Patients can learn more and book appointments by visiting https://www.villagemedical.com/locations/arizona.
To learn more about career opportunities at Village Medical at Walgreens, please visit the careers page.
For more information as well as multimedia assets, please visit the Walgreens Newsroom.
About Walgreens Boots Alliance
Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA) is an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail leader serving millions of customers and patients every day, with a 170-year heritage of caring for communities.
A trusted, global innovator in retail pharmacy with approximately 13,000 locations across the U.S., Europe and Latin America, WBA plays a critical role in the healthcare ecosystem. The company is reimagining local healthcare and well-being for all as part of its purpose – to create more joyful lives through better health. Through dispensing medicines, improving access to a wide range of health services, providing high quality health and beauty products and offering anytime, anywhere convenience across its digital platforms, WBA is shaping the future of healthcare.
WBA has more than 315,000 team members and a presence in nine countries through its portfolio of consumer brands: Walgreens, Boots, Duane Reade, the No7 Beauty Company, Benavides in Mexico and Ahumada in Chile. Additionally, WBA has a portfolio of healthcare-focused investments located in several countries, including China and the U.S.
The company is proud of its contributions to healthy communities, a healthy planet, an inclusive workplace and a sustainable marketplace. WBA has been recognized for its commitment to operating sustainably: it is an index component of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) and was named to the 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2021.
More company information is available at www.walgreensbootsalliance.com.
(WBA-GEN)
About VillageMD
VillageMD, through its subsidiary Village Medical, is a leading, national provider of value-based primary care services. VillageMD partners with physicians to provide the tools, technology, operations, staffing support and industry relationships to deliver high-quality clinical care and better patient outcomes, while reducing the total cost of care. The Village Medical brand provides primary care for patients at traditional free-standing practices, Village Medical at Walgreens practices, at home and via virtual visits. VillageMD and Village Medical have grown to 18 markets and are responsible for more than 1.6 million patients. VillageMD is also the largest participating sponsor of CMS’s new Direct Contracting program and estimates it serves more than 56,000 patients. To learn more, please visit www.villageMD.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements. All statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to the timing and effectiveness of collaboration plans and implementation, the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the strategic partnership, competitive actions in the marketplace, and the ability to achieve anticipated financial and operating results in the amounts and at the times anticipated, as well as those described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.’s Form 10-K for its fiscal year ending August 31, 2019 and Form 10-Q for its fiscal quarter ending February 29, 2020, and in other documents that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. files or furnishes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Each of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., Walgreens and VillageMD do not undertake, and expressly disclaim, any duty or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
1 Village Medical internal data.
2 Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). Arizona. Accessed at https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/primary-care-health-professional-shortage-areas-hpsas/?currentTimeframe=0&selectedRows=%7B%22states%22:%7B%22arizona%22:%7B%7D%7D%7D&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D on Jan. 12, 2022.
3 Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease: Arizona. Chronic Disease Fact Sheet. Accessed at https://www.fightchronicdisease.org/states/arizona on Jan. 12, 2022.
