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NEW YORK — MinuteClinic nurse practitioner Cody Peters didn’t have any family in the health care field when he was growing up, but his parents encouraged him to find a career where he could make the most of his caring and empathetic nature to help others while also creating a sense of purpose and job security. He finally landed on nursing, and while in school for his bachelor of science in nursing (BSN), he worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) for three years. That laid the foundation for his core principle at MinuteClinic — treating patients at their most vulnerable state how he would like to be treated.
Cody Peters
Once he graduated with a BSN, Peters took a job at one of the top pediatric intensive care units in Florida, where he worked for three years crafting his skills as a nurse and gathering education that would later help him to be the practitioner he is now. While working there, he finished a doctorate, and was able to fulfill his dream of moving to New York City “to look for the perfect nurse practitioner job.” Before he took his current job, he worked in the pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit at a New York hospital for a year to challenge himself and expand his knowledge before moving to retail health.
“Growing up, I always went to MinuteClinic for school physicals and sick visits,” says Peters. “Not only was it quick and efficient, but always a great experience.” As a new nurse practitioner at MinuteClinic, he can say from experience that providers are given all of the tools to be successful right away, including an evidence-based approach for treatments, and autonomy that allows one to grow and take ownership of their work while providing high-quality care.
“The outstanding management, team and flexible work schedules are an added bonus,” he points out.
As a primary care enabled practice, MinuteClinic provides more than 190 clinical services for acute and preventive care, chronic disease management and mental health care. Peters’ current clinic offers services to patients 18 months and older, but a huge portion of the patients are young people due to the area being residential and nestled between colleges. “My team and I take pride in offering exceptional sexual health management including HIV prophylaxis and birth control, as well as treatment for STIs,” he notes. “Through our education and nonjudgmental rapport, our patients return and put the stigma of sexual health in the past.”
Education is a foundational component of a patient’s treatment plan, he adds, saying it’s important to build patients’ knowledge and understanding to prepare them for self-management. One of the things he finds himself educating most about is viral versus bacterial upper respiratory infections and how to manage these illnesses to prevent antibiotic resistance or recurrent infections.
Having worked in many health care establishments, he says he’s never had a manager quite like nurse practitioner Anna Butcher. “I appreciate her kindness and flexibility to staff, efficiency when solving problems, and dedication to patient care,” he says. He also notes that he would be “nowhere without the late Chanel Freeman, DNP for my MinuteClinic training, and clinical partner Alyssa Luft, DNP who provides outstanding care for those she serves.”
Creagh Milford, president of retail health at CVS Health, observes that, in addition to traditional sites of care such as doctor’s offices and emergency rooms, retail health clinics like MinuteClinic can address key gaps in accessing care, which is important considering it can take months to schedule an appointment with a primary care physician. Many people may think of MinuteClinic as providing care for cold and flu, but it provides most of the services one would find at a primary care office. This includes wellness and annual exams, management of chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, and screenings. Over the last few years, retail health clinics have grown in acceptance and, according to a recent finding, retailers could capture as much as a third of the U.S. primary care market by 2030.
“Overall, I’m excited about the opportunity we have to improve health outcomes by providing care that is convenient and accessible and meets patients where they are,” says Milford.
MinuteClinic is the health clinic inside selected CVS Pharmacy stores. Serving over 5 million patients annually, MinuteClinic provides convenient and accessible care that is available seven days a week, including evening and weekends, through approximately 1,000 locations across the U.S. and virtually with on-demand care. MinuteClinic is one of the nation’s largest employers of advanced practice providers, which includes nurse practitioners and physician assistants/physician associates.
