Saint Mary's to open groundbreaking clinic in Walmart store

A health clinic to be operated by Saint Mary's in the Walmart store on Pyramid Highway next month is among the first of its type in the West, and more are almost certain to follow.

The opening of a clinic in the Walmart store offers Saint Mary's patients another access point to primary care, says the health care provider's chief medical officer.

The 600-square foot Clinic at Walmart is scheduled to open Oct. 18, says Dr. Dan Ferguson. Small health clinics have become commonplace in Walmart stores elsewhere in the nation, but the clinic operated by Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center is the first clinic run by Saint Mary's parent, Catholic Healthcare West, and one of the first in the Western United States.

Walmart's only Western clinic locations are in stores in Fremont, Calif., Kalispell, Mont., and Federal Way, Wash.

Ferguson says Walmart approached Catholic Healthcare West about a year ago with the idea of partnering with the healthcare provider to operate clinics in its northern Nevada stores. Over the next year Saint Mary's plans on expanding the business model to other Walmart locations in the Truckee Meadows.

"We would like to open one or two more in the next 12 months, and we are trying to figure out now what are the best locations for our second and third retail clinics," Ferguson says.

Saint Mary's will lease the space from Walmart, which has a standard template for its in-store clinics. Initially the clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays although hours may be extended if there is strong demand for services, Ferguson says.

"It brings value to Saint Mary's and to Saint Mary's patients," Ferguson says. "There is a shortage of primary care in Reno, and this allows another access point for simple medical conditions and makes care more accessible and convenient to St. Mary's patients."

The in-store clinic will be staffed by physician assistants and advanced nurse practitioners that will be overseen and supervised by physicians within the Saint Mary's Medical Group. Ferguson expects to add six additional positions within the company to staff the new clinic, which will offer basic medical services such as treatment for colds, bladder infections, flu, pinkeye and rashes, as well as physicals, tuberculosis testing, pregnancy tests and common vaccinations.

Clinic visits are expected to cost an average of $50 to $65. The clinic also will accept health insurance and will charge those patients their normal in-network co-pay.

Walmart says the model of retail healthcare clinics could bring sweeping changes to the industry.

"We are confident that our model of partnership with hospital systems will provide access to quality health care services for folks who don't want to wait in a busy emergency room or can't get in to see their physicians, says John Agwunobi, president of Walmart's health and wellness division.

This is not the first venture by Saint Mary's into a retail location. Saint Mary's Health Network and Scolari's Food and Drug in August of 2002 opened a Wellness Center in the Scolari's store at Caughlin Ranch.

The wellness center focused primarily on education and did not offer medical services. It folded after just a few years.

"It didn't have the clinical staff we learned that the community was more interested in," says Lisa Dettling, director of health enhancement for Saint Mary's. "That is the direction Saint Mary's is going in with this clinic at Walmart. It will be more in line with what the community is interested in."