Speaking to a crowd of customers and employees, Dr. Daniel Stein, director of Medical and Clinical Services for Wal-Mart, opens the in-store Wal-Mart Care Clinic on Friday morning at the Shugart Road location in Dalton, Ga.DALTON, Ga. - For Linda Baggett and thousands of other Georgians, Wal-Mart may soon provide their primary health care, at a fraction of what is normally charged for doctor visits.
Wal-Mart opened a health clinic at its Dalton store Friday, offering basic acute care and wellness checkups for $40 for Wal-Mart customers and $4 for Wal-Mart workers and family members on their health plan.
"It's a great price for my family and the clinic will be open a lot more hours than my pediatrician," said Baggett, a Wal-Mart cashier for seven years who expects to use the clinic to help care for her three children.
The new venture brings the world's biggest retailer -- and America's biggest private employer -- directly into the health care business for the first time.
"We're driving down the cost of health care," said Dr. Daniel Stein, director of medical and clinic services at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark.
The customer rates are only half of what is charged at similar walk-in clinics at CVS and other chains, and the employee rates should help many of the 380 employees at Wal-Mart's Dalton store. During a gala grand opening of the Wal-Mart Care Clinic on Friday, a drum corps played, singers sang and employees cheered.
Wal-Mart has previously leased space in many of its stores for other health care providers to operate stand-alone clinics, and will continue to lease space for such centers at 90 other U.S. stores, Stein said.
"But these clinics are offering an expanded scope of primary care services -- wellness exams, physicals, health screenings, vaccines and diagnosis and treatment of illnesses like flu and strep," Stein said.
The new Wal-Mart Care Clinic at the store entrance was built to serve more than 1,300 employees and family members in the Dalton area and customers who walk in or make appointments, Wal-Mart officials said. The clinic will be open 80 hours a week -- from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday -- and will be staffed by nurse practitioners and medical assistants.
Wal-Mart is working with QuadMed to open such clinics in 17 stores this year. The pilot program will measure employee and customer response before Wal-Mart decides whether to expand the program to more of its 4,400 stores nationwide.
Labeed Diab, president of health and wellness for Walmart, said the $40 price for a visit -- and the $4 fee for Wal-Mart associates -- "is creating a new price position for retail health services." The Wal-Mart Care Clinics do charge extra for lab tests and screening, but the initial rates per visit are well below those charged by most clinics and physicians.
Wal-Mart is entering a growing field as busy consumers turn more to clinics at drug stores and strip centers rather than traditional physician offices for more of their health care. A study last year by the global consulting company Accenture predicts the number of health clinics in the United States will grow by more than 25 percent a year to nearly 2,900 clinics by 2015. By the end of next year, such clinics are expected to accommodate nearly 11 million patient visits annually.
CVS Caremark operates more than 900 MinuteClinics at CVS drug stores in 30 states, including Tennessee and Gerogia. MinuteClinic is adding 150 new clinics this year. The cost for most services starts at $79.
But Wal-Mart, which prides itself on being the price leader, is cutting that price in half to draw more customers into its stores and leave them with more money to spend on other merchandise. For Wal-Mart employees, the clinics are an added benefit without any other change in the company's health plans, Stein said.
Nationwide, many of Wal-Mart's more than 1 million employees also have family members on the company's health insurance plan who will qualify for the $4 charge.
Wal-Mart is opening clinics in Dalton, Rome, Carrollton, Macon and Columbus in Georgia. Stein said Wal-Mart identified communities where the retailer had a significant employee presence and an underserved medical market, especially among low- and middle-income families.
"Our business here is to become the preferred health and wellness destination for our customers and our associates and we believe there is a tremendous opportunity to drive health care affordability with these clinics," Stein said. "It's a good business for our employees and for our customers."
In Dalton, the nurse practitioners will see patients under the oversight of a physician, as required by Georgia law. But Dr. Pablo Pere will not be available at the clinic. Nurse practitioners will refer patients to other physicians or hospitals when warranted.
Don Coleman, the manager of the Dalton store on Shugart Road, said employees have been anxious for the clinic to be built and open.
"Our associates couldn't be more excited about this," he said. "They are like kids on Christmas morning waiting to see this open."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.