BIG CHAIN “HEALTH HUBS” ON THE RISE

The retail giant Walmart is planning to open its second Health “super center” in Georgia this year.
Walmart’s first Health center opened its doors last September in Dallas, GA. The 10,000-square-foot storefront offers primary care, lab work, X-rays and EKGs, optical and hearing services, mental health counseling, dental services, nutrition counseling, fitness guidance, and health insurance education and enrollment.
Many of the services are offered in contractual partnerships with area medical care providers that maintain staff and equipment in the center.
The chain has tested small “care clinics” inside a few of their department stores in Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina. This is its first Health center with separate walls and a separate entrance, although it remains attached to a conventional Walmart superstore.
TRENDPOST: Walmart isn’t the only chain launching these health supermarkets.
CVS plans to open 50 “HealthHubs” this year, eventually opening 500 a year around the U.S.
 Walgreen’s and Humana have combined to open full-service clinics for seniors; Walgreen’s is also collaborating with UnitedHealth Group’s MedExpress doc-in-a-box chain to open centers with physicians and X-ray services with a door leading into an attached Walgreen’s store.
Commercial real estate owners, seeing more and more storefronts lie vacant, are welcoming these new tenants.
The centers are a response to customers who flock to Amazon to purchase personal and health-related products. By offering a wide array of person-to-person services, the stores hope to lure shoppers back to their brands and to bricks and mortar.