BELLEVUE, Wash. (Aug. 20) The Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation, which was founded in 2005 by a group of pioneering nurse practitioners to help bring the NP profession to the forefront of healthcare, has awarded scholarships to leaders in nursing as part of an effort to encourage NPs to take a proactive approach to improving healthcare in their communities and promote diversity within the profession.

ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 15) Retail Clinician, a publication of the Drug Store News Group, in conjunction with the Convenient Care Association, held the Inaugural Retail Clinician Education Congress in Orlando, Fla., this week, marking the first and only educational conference specifically focused on the retail clinician.

MIAMI (Aug. 13) MediGo, a division of Samoho Healthcare, an international healthcare company headquartered in Mexico, has opened physician-staffed walk-in clinics inside three Miami-Dade Navarro Discount Pharmacies. Navarro Discount Pharmacies is an MBF Healthcare Partners portfolio company.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (Aug. 11) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has announced that it is now offering school and sports physicals for $25 at its in-store health clinics nationwide.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (Aug. 6) The Little Clinic, an operator of retail-based clinics, opened several new clinics in July, including the opening of its second clinic in Fry’s Food Store.

AVONDALE, Ariz. (Aug. 4) MediMin has announced the completion of a long-term contract with Bashas’ to open retail health-care clinics inside grocery stores. Bashas’ is the second largest grocery chain in Arizona, with more than 160 stores.

TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 1) Governor Kathleen Sebelius has appointed Take Care nurse practitioner Serena Stutzman, an Olathe, Kan. resident, to the Kansas State Board of Nursing.

NEW YORK (Aug. 1) There is a major opportunity for the expansion of retail-based health clinics, from providing preventative care to working with federal health programs and clinics to lower health costs, according to a report recently released by the health care consultants at the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.

EAGAN, Minn. (Jul. 30) Looking to make it even easier for consumers to access cost-effective healthcare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is offering a new benefit option that eliminates co-pays for members who use retail-based clinics.

BOSTON (Jul. 25) Following the approval by state health officials for limited-service medical clinics, some of the state’s largest health insurers will cover visits to the clinics to be opened in CVS and Walgreens stores later this year.

HOUSTON (Jul. 23) My Healthy Access, a provider of retail health care services to the urban marketplace, has inked a joint operating agreement with healthcare service provider NuPhysicia to operate Telemedicine clinics in select Houston-area Wal-Mart Supercenters.

WASHINGTON (Jul. 24) The homeland security and health and human services departments have released guidelines for allocating and targeting a pandemic influenza vaccine, they announced Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Jul. 23) A panel of experts from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has recommended two approaches for treating patients with pre-diabetes.

WASHINGTON (Jul. 23) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that Merck’s Gardasil is a safe and effective protection against human papillomavirus.

DEERFIELD, Ill. (Jul. 16) Walgreens has named Take Care clinic co-founder and chairman Hal Rosenbluth a corporate senior vice president of the company, in addition to his role as president of Walgreens Health and Wellness division.

HOUSTON (Jul. 8) In-store clinic operator RediClinic has announced that it now offers Weight Watchers services and products exclusively in the Richmond, Va. area.

BASEL, Switzerland (Jul. 1) Roche has laid out distribution plans and is urging companies to buy stockpiles of its influenza vaccine Tamiflu in the case of a pandemic, according to published reports. The goal for Roche is to increase sales of its product, and also to once again remind people that a pandemic could happen at any time.

ST. LOUIS (Jun. 30) Less than two years after opening, all four InstaClinic locations have closed, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

ATLANTA (Jun. 27) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that supplies of rabies vaccine in the United States are limited.

ATLANTA (Jun. 26) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices announced Wednesday that it has allowed GlaxoSmithKline to add a vaccine against rotavirus to a list of child vaccinations.

NEW YORK (Jun. 25) Most children dread the multiple booster shots they must receive to protect them against childhood diseases, but GlaxoSmithKline has combined four of the shots into one.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Jun. 25) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has opened two in-store health clinics at Walgreens stores in the Columbus area.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (Jun. 25) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, is expanding its presence in Colorado to include up to 16 clinics by the end of 2008.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (Jun. 24) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has expanded into three more Wisconsin cities with the opening of its first clinics at Walgreens stores in the Green Bay, Madison and Oshkosh/Fox Valley markets.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Jun. 23) International researchers on Friday made the case for delivering flu shots intravenously (just under the skin), as opposed to in the muscle, at the International Congress for Infectious Diseases held here.

MADISON, Wis. (Jun. 20) Meriter, a provider of health care services, has teamed up with ShopKo to open two FastCare clinics in Madison in mid-October.

CONSHOCKEN, Pa. (Jun. 19) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has announced that it is now administering the shingles vaccine at all 177 Take Care Health Clinics in 19 markets throughout 14 states.

CHICAGO (Jun. 18) Physicians are backing a new public health policy that bans the sale of tobacco products and/or byproducts in retail outlets housing store-based health clinics.

HUDSON, Wis. (Jun. 12) Hudson Physicians, a division of Western Wisconsin Medical Associates, is expected to open this summer a walk-in healthcare clinic dubbed Hudson Physicians Quick Care, according to a local news report.

BOSTON (Jun. 12) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has confirmed that it plans to enter the Boston-metro area this fall, yet another sign that competition within the convenient care clinics landscape is heating up.

WASHINGTON (Jun. 9) By the first of next year, the Bush Administration has decreed that all computer-generated prescriptions covered by the Medicare Part D drug benefit program must be transmitted electronically for filling by pharmacies. But many health care provider groups aren’t waiting for a federal mandate.

SEATTLE (Jun. 5) MultiCare Health System, which runs the hospitals Tacoma General, Mary Bridge Children’s, Allenmore and Good Samaritan in Puyallup, Wash., plans to open two clinics in Rite Aid stores, in Tacoma and Lakewood, Wash., the first week of August, according to published reports. MultiCare is believed to be the first hospital system in Washington to open in-store clinics.

WASHINGTON (Jun. 4) The Federal Trade Commission has announced the approval of staff comments regarding proposed regulation of retail healthcare facilities in Illinois.

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (Jun. 3) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has treated its 500,000th patient since opening in November 2005.

SAN DIEGO (May30) Southern California health system Palomar Pomerado Health has partnered with Albertsons/Sav-on Pharmacy to open retail health centers and has opened two in-store health clinics, dubbed expresscare, in Rancho Penasquitos and Escondido.

CINCINNATI (May30) Retail grocery chain Kroger has made a “significant” investment in retail clinic operator The Little Clinic that will support a clinic rollout.

ROCKFORD, Ill. (May 27) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has opened its first Take Care Health Clinic at a Walgreens in the Rockford area.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (May21) Patient satisfaction with retail-based health clinics remains high, according to the results of a new WSJ.com/Harris Interactive health care study.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (May 19) Drug Store News has learned that Michael Howe has stepped down from his post as chief executive officer of MinuteClinic, and that CVS Caremark has named Chip Phillips as president of the company’s retail clinic division.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (May16) Supermarket chain Ukrop’s is opening next week, in partnership with Pratt Medical Center, an in-store health clinic inside its Salem Church store, according to a local news report.

ATLANTA (May16) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a single dose of Merck’s Zostavax even for people who have already had a case of shingles to prevent the painful condition and its potentially long-lasting after-effects, according to published reports. The Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine in 2006 and the CDC issued a provisional recommendation then, which is now replaced by this unanimous recommendation.

CAMP HILL , Pa. (May 14) Rite Aid and MultiCare Health System on Wednesday announced an agreement to open MultiCare Express clinics inside two Rite Aid stores in Tacoma and Lakewood, Wash. this summer.

DENVER (May6) Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens, has opened three Take Care Health Clinics at Walgreens drugstores in the Denver area.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (May2) The Little Clinic, an operator of in-store health clinics, has announced the opening of its eighth convenient care clinic in the Miami area inside Publix. Six additional Miami-area clinics are under construction and will open later this year.

WASHINGTON (May1) According to a study conducted by the American Journal of Public Health, out of 700 Americans interviewed, about 23 percent of them shared their prescription medication with someone else, and 27 percent reported borrowing prescription medications.

WASHINGTON (Apr. 30) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a quarter of children in the U.S. are not meeting government childhood vaccination recommendations, according to Reuters. The study was of children between the ages of 18 months and 3 years.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Apr. 29) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has announced that it is now accepting BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee at all 12 Take Care Health clinics at Nashville-area Walgreens.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Apr. 29) Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has opened five in-store clinics in the West Palm Beach area. One additional clinic is expected to open in the area over the next several weeks.

WELLINGTON, Fla. (Apr. 28) PDQ Care has introduced a combination walk-in clinic and pharmacy at a regional shopping mall with the recent opening at The Mall at Wellington Green.

BOSTON (Apr. 21) Months after the convenient care industry celebrated a victory in Massachusetts, as state health officials approved regulations allowing for limited-service medical clinics—a move sparked by CVS’ application to open MinuteClinics in the state—Take Care Health Systems has confirmed plans to also open retail-based clinics in Massachusetts.

WASHINGTON (Apr. 18) The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has launched a Web site that explains more than 100 innovations in the delivery of healthcare services.

DEERFIELD , Ill. (Apr. 15) Federal antitrust watchdogs have given a green light to Walgreens’ plan to purchase I-trax, a provider of on-site clinical care and wellness services to U.S. employers, for a reported price of $278 million, according to news reports.

CAMP HILL, Pa. (Apr. 16) The Rite Aid Foundation, a private foundation managed by Rite Aid Corp., has given a $20,000 grant toward the mobile health initiative of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the leading comprehensive cancer care and research centers in the U.S. and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

WASHINGTON (Apr. 16) The Council for Responsible Nutrition on Wednesday countered that a recently-updated meta-analysis in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews that claimed supplementation with vitamins A, E and beta-carotene could be hazardous to your long-term health does not debunk the body of scientific research that has shown that taking antioxidant supplements, including vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc and selenium, consistently over the long-term, can play a role in reducing the risk of chronic disease.

COLUMBIA , Md. (Apr. 8) Rite Aid will be opening retail clinics at four locations in Baltimore and Washington this summer, Rite Aid and clinic partner MedStar Health announced Tuesday.

DEERFIELD, Ill. (Mar. 27) Walgreens kicked off an expanded 2008 Take Care Health Tour this week that will hit 300 cities, cover more than 240,000 miles and provide more than $35 million in free health screenings and services, the company revealed.

MINNEAPOLIS (Mar. 15) MinuteClinic, a clinic operator owned by CVS Caremark, has applied for its first 10 clinic sites in Massachusetts and expects the opening dates to be in late summer to early fall.

RENO (Mar. 17) Newcomer MedAisle Express Care is opening its first in-store clinic here within Sak ‘n Save Food Store, according to local news reports.

LONDON (Mar. 4) J Sainsbury has become the first supermarket in the country to offer an in-store physician-staffed clinic.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (Mar. 5) A study was published by the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics that tested a live attenuated influenza vaccine administered concurrently with a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and the varicella vaccine in healthy children aged 12 to 15 months.

LONDON and ZURICH , Switzerland (Mar. 5) Roche Holding and GlaxoSmithKline have added new labels to their prescription flu medicines to warn of reports of abnormal psychiatric behavior in some patients, according to Reuters.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid on Monday named Cheryl Slavinsky, a public relations industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience, the chain’s director of public relations.

TORONTO — HearAtLast Holdings, an operator of hearing aid clinics, has received another license from Wal-Mart Canada to open its 18th clinic within a Wal-Mart Store in Aurora, Ontario. The grand opening is slated for Feb. 5.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart has announced that it will open in April its first co-branded in-store health clinic in Atlanta, Little Rock and Dallas, paving the way toward having 400 co-branded clinics by 2010.

PENNINGTON, N.J. — The Dialogue Co. introduced in November the first nationally distributed co-op sampling program for retail-based clinics.

Walk-in clinic operator CheckUps has confirmed that it has closed 23 clinics in Wal-Mart in four southern states, according to published reports.

LITTLE ROCK , Ark. (Jan. 17) MedBasics Family Health Centers announced that it has opened the first three in-store clinics in Little Rock inside USA Drug retail locations.

On the heels of the Massachusetts Public Health Council approving regulations allowing for in-store health clinics in the state, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is reportedly looking to ban the clinics from opening in the city.

Massachusetts health officials have approved regulatory changes allowing the operation of retail-based medical clinics at pharmacies, according to published reports.

Tom Ryan, CVS chairman, president and chief executive officer of CVS Caremark had an upbeat message for attendees of the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco this week.

Walgreens Friday announced record sales and earnings for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. Net earnings for the quarter ended Nov. 30 were up 5.5 percent to $456 million or 46 cents per share, from $432 million or 43 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.

Take Care Health Systems, an in-store clinic operator that is owned by Walgreens, has launched in the Cleveland area with a clinic in Mentor and two additional sites opening in Cuyahoga Falls and Akron by the end of the year.

The state of New Jersey announced that, starting in September 2008, children entering day care or preschool will be required to have had flu vaccinations, despite some parents’ fears that the trace amounts of mercury in the vaccines could trigger autism.

CVS recently opened the doors to its new flagship Manhattan store that incorporates many of the elements of its Project Life design and has a large beauty department and skin care center.

Duane Reade announced on Nov. 27 the opening of its second Diabetes Resource Center in Brooklyn, which has the second highest number of diabetes claims to Duane Reade pharmacies after Manhattan.

In-store clinic operator Take Care Health Systems, which is owned by Walgreens, has announced the opening of seven Take Care clinics at Walgreens in the Pittsburgh area. The clinics relocated from Rite Aid where they had been open since September 2006.

RediClinic on Nov. 27announced that it has teamed with Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell to address the importance of flu prevention during National Influenza Vaccination Week.

Take Care Health Systems is set to bring awareness to local communities by offering flu shots in honor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Influenza Vaccination Week from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2.

A weak start to the holiday sales season, a rise in lower-price generic drug introductions, pressures on children’s cough-cold products and other factors combined to slow the growth momentum at Walgreen Co. in November, but the company still eked out modest same-store sales gains amid the uncertainty.

Pamida, through a partnership with Alegent Health Quick Care clinic, has opened an in-store health clinic in its Plattsmouth, Neb., store.

CVS Caremark announced on Wednesday that its pharmacy benefit management division, Caremark Pharmacy Services, has received accreditation from URAC, a Washington DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

In-store clinic operator Take Care Health Systems is celebrating on Monday the grand opening of its first ever Intellicenter in Fargo, N.D.

During the month of January, Rite Aid and one of its in-store clinic partners, Lindora, will offer a multi-faceted free weight management program to help people lose 10 percent of their body weight and make major improvements in their health and wellness, the retailer announced Wednesday.