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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. president and chief executive officer Greg Wasson was joined by former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, Sen. Richard Lugar (R., Ind.) and community leaders at a ceremony marking the grand reopening of Walgreens’ newly renovated stores in the Indianapolis market.
All of the 68 Walgreens stores in the Indianapolis area, which employ more than 2,200 people, have been redesigned into "health and daily living stores" to better meet customers’ needs, notes the retailer.
Each store features a pharmacist situated in front of the pharmacy, offering more opportunity for patient consultation, and such other health care services 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, also helps customers navigate the stores. Some stores also have a Health Corner space to host individual or group health and wellness community events.
Fresh food — including fruit and vegetables, meat, prepared salads, sandwiches, wraps, take-and-bake pizzas and other on-the-go meal options — are also featured.
In addition, the stores have an enhanced beauty department display — including one store with a Look Boutique featuring dozens of prestige and niche cosmetic, skin care and hair care brands not typically found in drug stores.
The January 19 ribbon-cutting occurred at the Walgreens on 16th and Meridian in Indianapolis. Besides Wasson, Dungy and Lugar, attendees included Indiana Health Commissioner Dr. Gregory Larkin; Phil Wickizer, director of the Indiana Board of Pharmacy; Dan Hasler, Indiana’s secretary of commerce and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.; 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. “At the core of this approach is our effort to bring the pharmacists 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,” he noted.
As part of the marketwide renovations Walgreens added six Take Care Clinics in Indianapolis, bringing its network of clinics in the area to 14.
