Hartford HealthCare and Walgreens partner to provide health clinics that improve access to care

Retail locations will offer 7-day-a-week availability of healthcare providers

HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Walgreens and Hartford HealthCare will add health clinics to select Walgreens locations in Connecticut, advancing a unique retail health model based on convenience, access to care, affordability and health equity. This is Walgreens first retail clinic collaboration with a health system in New England.

Under a clinical collaboration agreement, five clinics operated by Hartford HealthCare medical providers will be added to Walgreens locations, including 340 Flanders Road, in East Lyme (at Flanders Four Corners); 2 Shaker Road, in Enfield; 235 Main Street, in Norwalk; and 203 Kennedy Drive, in Putnam. One additional location will be announced in the coming months. Hartford HealthCare at Walgreens clinics are scheduled to open within a year and will offer primary care, screenings, vaccinations, confidential telehealth services and more, seven days per week by appointment or walk-in.

The collaboration is based on the organizations' shared vision to improve access to care, reduce healthcare costs and offer convenient access to essential primary care and pharmacy services. The locations will offer consumers a convenient destination to access both Walgreens experience in community retail health and pharmacy operations and Hartford HealthCare's expertise in delivering patient care, employing highly qualified medical professionals, and operating health centers.

Hartford HealthCare at Walgreens will combine in-person care from a medical professional and, when needed, confidential in-store virtual care. For ease of access, an employee of Hartford HealthCare Medical Group will provide patient registration and point-of-care services, while a Medical Group primary care provider will offer private virtual care visits, including referrals as needed. Rounding out the experience, patients will have convenient access to Walgreens pharmacy and retail services.

"Hartford HealthCare is intent on changing the way healthcare is delivered, and this collaboration with Walgreens is another example of the variety of convenient offerings and care settings we are adding," said Jeffrey A. Flaks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hartford HealthCare. "Our organizations are working together to combine resources and best practices to create an innovative retail health environment that meets consumers' needs and exceeds their expectations."

"Walgreens is committed to providing patients the care they need when and how it is most convenient for them," said John Driscoll, executive vice president and president, U.S. Healthcare, Walgreens Boots Alliance. "Through this special collaboration with Hartford HealthCare, we can help keep patients more connected to high-quality care and foster long-term relationships and behaviors that help patients get and stay healthy."

Together, Walgreens and Hartford HealthCare will provide one-stop convenience — a community health destination offering a health clinic, pharmacy services and retail all in one location. Patients can see their provider, pick up their medications and go shopping at their neighborhood Walgreens. Nearly 80% of Americans live within five miles of a Walgreens store.

About Hartford HealthCare
With 37,000 colleagues, Hartford HealthCare's unified culture enhances access, affordability, equity and excellence. Its care-delivery system — with nearly 500 locations serving 185 towns and cities — includes two tertiary-level teaching hospitals, an acute-care community teaching hospital, an acute-care hospital and trauma center, three community hospitals, a behavioral health network, a multispecialty physician group, a clinical care organization, a regional home care system, an array of senior care services, a mobile neighborhood health program and a comprehensive physical therapy and rehabilitation network. On average, Hartford HealthCare touches more than 23,000 lives every single day. The unique, system-wide Institute Model offers a unified high standard of care in crucial specialties at hospital and ambulatory sites across Connecticut offering unparalleled excellence at the most affordable cost. The institutes include: Ayer Neuroscience, Behavioral Health, Cancer, Digestive Health, Heart & Vascular, Orthopedics and Tallwood Urology & Kidney. Visit Hartford HealthCare at www.HartfordHealthCare.org and stay connected through newsletters and social media.

About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is included in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and U.S. Healthcare segments of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail leader with a 170-year heritage of caring for communities. WBA's purpose is to create more joyful lives through better health. Operating nearly 9,000 retail locations across America, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Walgreens is proud to be a neighborhood health destination serving nearly 10 million customers each day. Walgreens pharmacists play a critical role in the U.S. healthcare system by providing a wide range of pharmacy and healthcare services, including those that drive equitable access to care for the nation's underserved populations. To best meet the needs of customers and patients, Walgreens offers a true omnichannel experience, with fully integrated physical and digital platforms supported by the latest technology to deliver high-quality products and services in communities nationwide.

SOURCE Hartford HealthCare