Walmart Health has announced plans to expand into a third new state next year, offering imaging services and Epic EHR integration, leaders said Wednesday.
The retail giant will mark its first foray into Oklahoma in 2024, adding four new locations adjacent to its supercenters in the Sooner State. Each “state-of-the-art” Walmart Health outpost will be about 5,750 square feet, delivering X-rays, primary care, EKG, labs, behavioral health and other select specialty services.
Walmart previously announced plans to double in size via its first expansion into Arizona and Missouri, also “deepening” its presence in Texas, for a total of 75 locations by 2025.
“Knowing that access to comprehensive primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services is a challenge in many communities, it is our hope that this one-stop model will help solve this challenge for our neighbors in Oklahoma City,” David Carmouche, MD, senior VP of omnichannel care offerings at Walmart, said Wednesday, April 26. “Providing these services in a place where many already live and shop and co-locating them by pharmacy and vision services and next to healthy foods in the Walmart grocery section is intentional. We can coordinate unique and impactful healthcare experiences.”
Each center utilizes modern imaging systems and other technology, including electronic health records integrated across all Walmart Health locations. They’ll operate from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends, with telehealth options also available. Centers are staffed by physicians, dentists, behavioral health specialists, community health workers and more.
The opening only scratches the surface, as Walmart has a total of 134 retail locations across Oklahoma alone. And it already has 30 other Walmart Health locations spanning Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, Georgia and Florida. The retailer recently inked a partnership with industry giant UnitedHealth, administering “comprehensive” value-based care services to certain Medicare Advantage patients in the later two southeastern states.
Altogether, Walmart has about 10,500 stores, under 46 different banners, in 24 countries. About 90% of the U.S. population is located within 10 miles of a Walmart, the organization estimates. It logged fiscal year 2022 revenue of $573 billion and employs 2.3 million associates across the globe.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.