MinuteClinic and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals Form Clinical Collaboration to Improve Access to Health Care in Southern Nevada

WOONSOCKET, R.I. and LAS VEGAS, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS), and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals in southern Nevada, members of the Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) system, have entered into a clinical collaboration to enhance the high quality, affordable health care services they provide in communities throughout the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

MinuteClinic has six walk-in medical clinics open seven days a week inside select CVS/pharmacy stores throughout southern Nevada. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants staff the clinics to provide treatment for common family illnesses, administer wellness and prevention services, and provide health condition monitoring.

St. Rose Dominican Hospitals operates three hospitals in southern Nevada:  the Rose de Lima and Siena Campuses in Henderson, and the San Martin Campus in Las Vegas. It joins four hospitals in the Phoenix metropolitan area as the second group of hospitals within CHW to affiliate with MinuteClinic.

"We are pleased to grow our relationship with CHW as we work with the teams at St. Rose Dominican Hospitals to improve access to high-quality, affordable medical services through our convenient retail clinics near where people live and work," said Andrew Sussman, M.D., President of MinuteClinic and Senior Vice President/Associate Chief Medical Officer of CVS Caremark. "St. Rose Dominican Hospitals has served residents in southern Nevada for more than 60 years and has established an outstanding reputation for community service, clinical quality and care that complements MinuteClinic's desire to make health care easier and more affordable for local residents."

"St. Rose is looking forward to bringing additional quality patient care to Henderson and Las Vegas, and helping to meet the growing health care needs in our communities," said Rod Davis, President and CEO of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals. "This collaboration will enhance the ability of patients to access health care in a timely manner and is consistent with St. Rose's focus of helping to create a clinical care network that will benefit our patients and physicians."

Under the agreement, family physicians affiliated with St. Rose Dominican Hospitals may serve as medical directors for MinuteClinic locations in the Las Vegas area. In addition, MinuteClinic and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals will collaborate on patient education and disease management initiatives, as well as inform patients of the services each offers.

St. Rose Dominican Hospitals will accept patients who need a level of care that is not provided at MinuteClinic. Signage at MinuteClinic locations will inform patients that each site has a clinical collaboration with St. Rose Dominican Hospitals. The MinuteClinic collaboration is intended to complement the work of St. Rose's primary care physicians (PCP) by supporting their efforts in providing convenient and episodic care. MinuteClinic is not meant to replace a patient's PCP. Consumers who do not have a PCP will be given the opportunity to choose a physician that meets their needs through a resource list of primary care providers that includes, but is not limited to, St. Rose's physician referral network.

No appointments are required at MinuteClinic and most forms of health insurance are accepted. Clinics in the Las Vegas area are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

MinuteClinic and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals will begin to work toward fully integrating their electronic medical record systems to streamline communication surrounding all aspects of each individual's care. With patient permission, each St. Rose Dominican Hospitals - MinuteClinic collaborative site will share medical history and visit summaries with other St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and the patients' primary care providers.

About St. Rose Dominican Hospitals

St. Rose Dominican Hospitals is the only not-for-profit, religiously sponsored hospital system in southern Nevada and consists of three campuses – Rose de Lima, Siena and San Martin. As a mission driven hospital system, St. Rose is guided by the vision and core values of the Adrian Dominican Sisters and Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), a system of 40 hospitals and medical centers in California, Arizona and Nevada. Founded in 1986, CHW is the eighth largest hospital system in the nation. As the community grows, St. Rose's mission is to continue to serve all people in need.

About MinuteClinic  MinuteClinic is a division of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS), the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States. MinuteClinic launched the first retail health care centers in the United States in 2000 and is the first provider to establish a national presence, with approximately 500 locations in 25 states and the District of Columbia. By creating a health care delivery model that responds to consumer demand, MinuteClinic makes access to high-quality medical treatment easier for more Americans. Nationally, the company has generated more than eight million patient visits, with a 95% customer satisfaction rating.  MinuteClinic consistently brings innovation to the marketplace and sets new standards for clinical quality that exceed the national guidelines established for store-based clinics.  MinuteClinic is the first retail health care provider to receive accreditation (2006) and reaccreditation (2009) from The Joint Commission, the national evaluation and certifying agency for nearly 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. For more information, visit www.MinuteClinic.com.

SOURCE MinuteClinic