Health systems see opportunities to meet their patients where they already are.
By Daniel Beaird
Three former Walmart Health locations in Northwest Arkansas have reopened as Mercy clinics.
The Missouri-based health system has opened Mercy Clinic Primary Care locations inside Walmart Supercenters in Springdale, Rogers and Fort Smith, Arkansas. These primary care facilities allow Mercy to meet their patients where they are, according to Dr. Lance Faddis, regional physician executive for primary care for Mercy Arkansas Communities.
Walmart Health closed all 51 of its locations across five states in 2024 after it couldn’t operate a profitable business due to a challenging reimbursement environment and rising costs, including labor costs tied to a shortage of healthcare workers in the U.S. The closure announcement came just one month after Walmart announced it planned to open 22 new locations in 2024 and more in 2025.
Walmart is not involved in providing or overseeing care at the new Mercy Clinic Primary Care locations. Mercy and community leaders marked the opening of the new clinics on Nov. 4-5.
“These new locations reflect our commitment to making healthcare more accessible and to supporting the well-being of Arkansas families by providing care in the places they already visit frequently,” Dr. Faddis said.
Each location is between 5,000-6,000 square feet with space to expand. They offer primary for all ages with appointments and walk-ins during regular hours. Services include:
- Medicare annual wellness visits.
- Sports physicals.
- Vaccines and immunizations.
- Health screenings and exams.
- Preventative care and more.
AdventHealth opens telehealth primary care clinic in Kentucky Walmart
AdventHealth has partnered with Walmart to open a hybrid telehealth primary care clinic in Kentucky. AdventHealth Clinic Corbin started seeing patients Nov. 4 for routine checkups, chronic disease management, preventative care, virtual consultations and lab services inside the Walmart Supercenter in Corbin, Kentucky. The retailer recently celebrated a grand reopening for the newly remodeled store with the AdventHealth addition.
Jamie Couch, interim administrator and vice president of operations at AdventHealth Manchester (Kentucky), said the health system is excited to serve the Corbin community with convenient whole-person care. The AdventHealth clinic will leverage the latest technology to connect patients with experienced healthcare providers.
Walmart stores are positioned to provide affordable care in underserved communities and with Walmart Health exiting the stage in 2024, larger health systems have seen the opportunity to fill those spaces. The American Hospital Association (AHA) says technology, partnerships and flexible care models will help determine which players can succeed in healthcare in meeting consumer needs and profitability in the future. Managing the framework alone proved a daunting task for retailers like Walmart as their strategies have to adjust to healthcare regulations, unpredictable reimbursement models and staff shortages.