TAKE CARE HEALTH SYSTEMS OPENS FIRST CLINIC IN ROCKFORD
05.27.08
— First walk-in clinic in Rockford offers patients increased access to high-quality, affordable health care —
ROCKFORD, IL — May 27, 2008 — Take Care Health Systems, one of the largest managers of convenient care clinics and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG), has opened its first Take Care Health Clinic at a Walgreens drugstore in the Rockford area. The clinic is a walk-in, professional health care center open seven days a week with extended evening and weekend hours. Three additional clinics are expected to open in Rockford this year. Take Care Health Systems now has 29 clinics in the state, including 28 in the Chicago area.
"Take Care Nurse Practitioners have treated more than 500,000 patients nationwide since our first clinic opened in November 2005, with consistently high patient satisfaction rates," said Peter Miller, Take Care Health Systems' President and CEO. "We are excited to bring our model of high-quality, affordable and convenient health care to Rockford for the first time."
The Take Care Health Clinic in the Rockford area is staffed by board-certified family nurse practitioners who treat patients 18 months and older for common illnesses such as strep throat, ear and sinus infections, pink eye and poison ivy, and are licensed to write prescriptions that can be filled at the patient's pharmacy of choice. Take Care Nurse Practitioners also provide school, sports and camp physicals and offer vaccinations for flu, hepatitis B, meningitis and tetanus.
The clinic has two patient examination rooms, exam tables, sinks, innovative patient registration kiosks and electronic medical record technology for visit documentation. The Rockford clinic is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., and is located at 3336 11th St.
Additional clinics will open this year at the following Walgreens drugstores:
- Belvidere - 230 W Chrysler Drive
- Roscoe - 5065 Hononegah
- Rockford - 2323 Charles Street
Take Care Health Systems has partnered with national insurance plans including Aetna, ChoiceCare, CIGNA, Coventry, Great West Healthcare, Humana, Multiplan/PCHS and UnitedHealthcare to provide covered services to patients, in addition to accepting Medicare and Medicaid. If insured by one of these plans, patients pay their regular co-pay or coinsurance amount. For the uninsured or cash payers, prices average $59-$74 and are listed on clinic sign-in kiosks.
"Take Care Health Clinics provide access to high-quality, convenient healthcare," said Wendy Edwards, Lead Take Care Nurse Practitioner for Rockford. "Our experienced nurse practitioners understand their local communities and are delighted to provide an unparalleled patient experience in another Illinois market."
Take Care Nurse Practitioners encourage all patients to have a health care home, a provider they see routinely for on-going medical needs and routine exams. If a patient's condition falls outside of the scope of service at the clinic, the patient is referred back to his/her primary care provider for follow-on care. If a patient does not have a primary care provider, nurse practitioners will offer a list of providers in the area accepting new patients. Take Care Nurse Practitioners collaborate with local physicians who are available for consultation at all times the nurse practitioner is treating a patient. Collaborating physicians and other local providers work with Take Care Nurse Practitioners to accept patient referrals.
Take Care Health Systems uses nationally recognized, evidence-based clinical guidelines for treatment and electronic medical record technology allowing patients to take visit records to other providers, promoting continuity of care. Take Care Nurse Practitioners follow quality and safety standards as outlined by the Convenient Care Association, the industry's trade association, and are aligned with guidelines for retail clinics set by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Association.
Take Care Health Systems is part of Walgreens new Health and Wellness division, alongside Walgreens newly acquired I-trax/CHD Meridian Healthcare and Whole Health Management, two leading providers of worksite health centers that operate under the name Take Care Employer Solutions. Including Take Care Health Clinics, Walgreens has nearly 600 worksite health and wellness centers and retail health clinics within the division.
Take Care Health Systems currently manages 171 total clinics in 18 cities throughout 14 states, including Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, Tenn., Orlando, Fla., Pittsburgh, Rockford, Ill., St. Louis, Tampa, Fla., Tucson, Ariz. and West Palm Beach, Fla.
About Take Care Health SystemsSM
Take Care Health Systems (www.takecarehealth.com), one of the largest managers of convenient care clinics, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens and part of Walgreens Health and Wellness division. The Company combines best practices in health care and the expertise and personal care of its providers — nurse practitioners and physician assistants — to deliver access to high-quality, affordable and convenient health care to all individuals. Take Care Health Clinics are located at select Walgreens drugstores nationwide, where providers focus exclusively on the diagnosis and treatment of common family illnesses and offer vaccinations and physicals. Take Care Health Systems currently manages 171 Take Care Health Clinics in 18 cities throughout 14 states, with plans to have more than 400 clinics in operation by the end of 2008. Patient care is provided by Take Care Health Services, an independently owned state professional corporation established in each market.
About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2007 sales of $53.8 billion. The company operates 6,204 drugstores in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Walgreens provides the most convenient access to consumer goods and cost-effective health care services in America through its retail drugstores, Walgreens Health Services division and Walgreens Health and Wellness division. Walgreens Health Services assists pharmacy patients and prescription drug and medical plans through Walgreens Health Initiatives Inc. (a pharmacy benefit manager), Walgreens Mail Service Inc., Walgreens Home Care Inc., Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy LLC and SeniorMed LLC (a pharmacy provider to long-term care facilities). Walgreens Health and Wellness division includes Take Care Health Systems, which is comprised of: Take Care Employer Solutions, a provider of worksite-based health care services at more than 370 employer campuses, and Take Care Consumer Solutions, the manager of 171 convenient care clinics at Walgreens drugstores. Through these growing services and its drugstores, Walgreens plans to keep people healthier and more productive through 10,000 points of care by 2012.
Key Contacts:
Lauren Tierney
for Take Care Health Systems
484-351-3212