Tony Dungy today joined Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (NASDAQ: WAG) President and CEO Greg Wasson, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and community leaders in a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the grand reopening of Walgreens newly-renovated stores in the Indianapolis market.

Indianapolis is Walgreens market-wide, pilot transformation of the traditional drugstore into a health and daily living store. Each of the 68 Walgreens stores in the Indianapolis area, which employ more than 2,200 people, has been redesigned around customers' needs and include combinations of the following innovations:

  • A pharmacist located in front of the pharmacy, offering a greater opportunity for patient consultation and health care services such as vaccinations and health testing.
  • A new Walgreens staff member called a Health Guide, equipped with an iPad and available to answer product and service questions, helps customers navigate the store and their health care options and sign up for events. Select stores also have a Health Corner space to host individual or group health and wellness community events.
  • Fresh food, including fruits and vegetables, meats, prepared salads, sandwiches, wraps, take-and-bake pizzas and other on-the-go meal options.
  • An enhanced beauty department display, including one store with a Look Boutique featuring dozens of prestige and niche cosmetic, skincare and hair care brands not typically found in drugstores.

Today's ribbon-cutting event took place at the Walgreens located at 16th and Meridian in Indianapolis. In addition to Dungy, Wasson and Sen. Lugar, other attendees included: Dan Hasler (Indiana Secretary of Commerce and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation); Dr. Gregory Larkin (Indiana Health Commissioner); Phil Wickizer (Indiana Board of Pharmacy Director); Councilor Vop Osili, (Indianapolis City-County Council District 15); Sarah Fisher (IZOD IndyCar Series team owner); and Elaine Irwin (Revlon ambassador and Almay spokesmodel).

"Our new health and daily living stores help people live well, stay well and get well," said Wasson, an Indiana native who earned his bachelor's degree in pharmacy from Purdue University. "At the core of this approach is our effort to bring the pharmacist out from behind the counter so they can provide more counseling to patients, offer clinical services and answer questions. By advancing the role of the community pharmacist in this way, we believe we can create better health outcomes, prevent hospitalizations and save money for patients, employers, insurers and the health care system."

Walgreens also added six Take Care Clinics in Indianapolis as part of the market-wide renovations, bringing the total number of Take Care Clinics to 14 in Indianapolis. Board-certified family nurse practitioners and physician assistants at Take Care Clinics treat patients 18 months and older for common illnesses, offer preventive services such as vaccines and physicals and are licensed to write prescriptions, when necessary, that can be filled at the patient's pharmacy of choice.

As part of this pilot program over the past year, Walgreens first opened 20 stores in the Chicago area with the new health and daily living format.

"The response we've received from our customers been extraordinarily positive, and we're excited to bring this new customer experience to Indianapolis," Wasson said.

About Walgreens

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2011 sales of $72 billion. The company operates 7,818 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

Walgreens
Robert Elfinger, 847-315-2962
http://news.walgreens.com