Walgreens, VillageMD Opening 10 Orlando Primary Care Clinics

Walgreens Boots Alliance and VillageMD will open three Orlando area Village Medical clinics at Walgreens locations, the companies announced Thursday (Aug. 12), and will cut the ribbon on seven more Sunshine State outposts by the end of the year.

The Walgreens and VillageMD integrated care model allows patients to get primary care and pharmacy services all under one roof.

“These 10 new clinics in Orlando are the first of many we hope to bring to Florida to provide residents high-quality care in the communities where they live, shop and work,” said Jamie Vortherms, vice president of healthcare services at Walgreens, in the announcement.

The Florida Village Medical at Walgreens will create about 400 jobs in the Orlando area, including 200 positions rooted in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

“By bringing this model to Walgreens locations in Orlando, we’re able to provide unprecedented access to primary care services and deliver improved health outcomes,” said Brent Asplin, M.D., president of Village Medical, in the joint announcement.

Related: Walgreens, VillageMD To Open 29 Texas Primary Care Practices

Walgreens and VillageMD announced in July they will open 29 new Village Medical at Walgreens practices in Houston, Austin and El Paso this year. The companies said they will open at least 600 locations in 30 U.S. cities and towns in the next four years as part of a long-range plans to open 100 integrated health care facilities through a $1 billion investment unveiled in January.

Tim Barry, co-founder and CEO of VillageMD, told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster last year that better chronic care condition management means providers need to be in constant touch with their patients and that’s more accessible through Walgreens locations. That will lower healthcare costs in the long run, Barry told Webster.

VillageMD is mulling going public in a plan that could bring in up to $1 billion and put the company’s value at $10 billion, according to Bloomberg.