CenterWell, the healthcare services business of Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), plans to lease clinical space and open senior-focused primary care centers at 23 Walmart Supercenter retail stores in Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Texas. The new centers will be located next to Walmart stores in clinical office space that was formerly occupied by Walmart Health.
In April 2024 Walmart announced that it was closing 51 Walmart Health centers as well as Walmart Health Virtual Care. The Arkansas-based retail giant said that due to a challenging reimbursement environment and escalating operating costs, it is not a sustainable business model to continue. The company continues to operate 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers.
The primary care centers will operate under the CenterWell Senior Primary Care and Conviva Care Centers brand names and will be designed to provide seniors in these communities with greater access to primary care services designed specifically for older adults. CenterWell expects the centers to be equipped, staffed and opened no later than the first half of 2025. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“CenterWell is committed to providing seniors with high quality health care that is accessible, comprehensive, and most of all, personalized. We are excited by the unique opportunity to lease space from a world-class community partner such as Walmart and offer seniors in these four states greater access to our integrated approach to care,” said Sanjay Shetty, M.D., president of CenterWell, in a statement. “These nearly two dozen primary care centers are specifically designed for seniors, and each location’s design, including dedicated entrances and easy parking, offers patients the access that they have come to expect at our clinics across the nation. We are eager to expand on our mission to help patients lead happier, healthier lives.”
“We are looking forward to welcoming CenterWell into these purpose-built healthcare spaces to offer quality care to communities in four states,” said Brian Setzer, executive vice president, Walmart Health & Wellness, in a statement. “Leasing these spaces to a well-known and successful healthcare delivery organization is a win for customers and patients, as we continue to focus on our core health & wellness business of Pharmacy and Optical.”
Together, CenterWell Senior Primary Care, along with its sister brand Conviva Care Centers comprise Humana’s Primary Care Organization, delivering care to about 318,000 seniors in nearly 300 centers across 15 states.
These locations include a staff of board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners and medical assistants that coordinate care alongside care coaches, social workers, behavioral health specialists and clinical pharmacists.
