Take Care Health Systems Expands Vaccine Program
Take Care Health Systems today furthered its role as one of the largest managers of convenient care clinics and commitment to becoming one of the leading providers of vaccination products and services across care settings with the rollout of four more vaccines at Take Care Clinics. The company’s new vaccination suite includes: varicella (chickenpox), measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), pneumococcal (PPV) and human pappilomavirus (HPV).
These vaccinations, in addition to hepatitis B, menactra (meningitis), shingles, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) and tetanus booster (Td) are now available at all 223 Take Care Clinics located at Walgreens drugstores. Flu shots will also be available from October 1 through early 2009. The company, one of the largest managers of convenient care clinics and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG), is offering the vaccines to further the health and wellness of the communities where clinics are located, providing all patients increased access to high-quality, affordable and convenient health care.
As many as 70,000 Americans die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases, according to federal data reported in a recent Wall Street Journal article. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the U.S. population is being vaccinated in disappointingly poor numbers, with some adult immunization rates barely breaking the 2 percent range. In addition, every year diseases that could be prevented by vaccines result in costly increases in provider visits, hospitalizations and missed time from school for children and work for parents.
“Vaccinations are the cornerstone of disease prevention and health promotion,” said Sandra Festa Ryan, Chief Nurse Practitioner Officer at Take Care Health Systems. “Routine immunizations are critical for both children and adults. Adults should ensure they are up to date on recommended vaccines to prevent against common, yet serious, diseases.
“Take Care Clinics are an ideal setting to receive this first line of defense in disease prevention. With no appointments necessary, clinics provide a high-quality, convenient and accessible option for patients.”
The CDC recommends certain vaccines for specific age groups. Take Care Health Providers can help determine which vaccinations are recommended for patients, explain the benefits of each vaccine and provide recommendations if a patient’s vaccine history is unknown. Vaccination cards are provided at Take Care Clinics for children and adults.
The four vaccines address the following key, preventable diseases:
— Varicella (for children ages seven and older) – Chickenpox is a common childhood disease. It can be serious, causing a rash, itching, fever and tiredness. Before the vaccine, roughly 11,000 people were hospitalized annually in the U.S. for chickenpox and about 100 people died each year.
— Measles, mumps and rubella (for children ages seven and older) – Measles, mumps and rubella are serious diseases. The measles virus causes rash, cough, runny nose, eye irritation and fever. It can lead to ear infection, pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death. The mumps virus causes fever, headache and swollen glands. It can lead to deafness, meningitis and rarely, death. The rubella virus causes rash, mild fever and arthritis.
— Pneumococcal (for adults 65+) – Pneumococcal is a serious disease, killing more people in the U.S. annually than all other vaccine-preventable diseases combined. The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) protects against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria.
— Human pappilomavirus (for females ages 11-26) – HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the U.S. with more than 20 million people infected as of 2005 and 6.2 million more infected every year. Gardasil is effective in preventing four strains of HPV that cause most cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the second-leading cancer killer among women. Gardasil is a three-dose series vaccine administered over six months.
A full list of Take Care Health Services and vaccines are available at www.TakeCareHealth.com.
Take Care Health Systems has partnered with many national insurance plans to cover services offered at the clinic, including Aetna, CIGNA, Coventry, GreatWest, Humana, Multiplan/PHCS, UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint, as well as many regional and local plans, Medicare and Medicaid. Patients should check with their individual plan to confirm vaccination coverage.
“We have seen more than 675,000 patients nationwide since our first clinic opened in November 2005. Our patients are thrilled with the experience at our clinics and have asked us to expand our services due to the challenge of accessing some vaccines in the traditional health care system, such as Gardasil and shingles,” said Peter Miller, President and CEO of Take Care Health Systems. “Our over-arching goal is to meet the needs of the patients we serve, while offering high-quality care that delights patients and furthers the health and wellness of the community.”
Take Care Clinics are walk-in, professional health care centers open seven days a week with extended evening and weekend hours. Clinics are staffed by board-certified family nurse practitioners and physician assistants who treat patients 18 months and older for common illnesses such as strep throat, ear and sinus infections, pink eye and poison ivy, and are licensed to write prescriptions that can be filled at the patient’s pharmacy of choice.
Take Care Health Systems is part of Walgreens Health and Wellness division which includes Take Care Consumer Solutions, managers of convenient care clinics located at select Walgreens drugstores nationwide, and Take Care Employer Solutions, managers of worksite-based health and wellness services. Including Take Care Clinics, the Walgreens Health and Wellness division manages 587 worksite health and wellness centers and retail health clinics.
Take Care Health Systems currently manages 223 clinics in 29 markets and 15 states, including locations in: Atlanta, Boulder-Longmont, Colo., Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Ohio, Denver, Green Bay, Wis., Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Louisville, Madison, Wis., Miami, Milwaukee, Nashville, Tenn., Orlando, Fla., Oshkosh, Wis., Peoria, Ill., Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Rockford, Ill., St. Louis, Tampa, Fla., Topeka, Kan., Tucson, Ariz., West Palm Beach, Fla. and Wichita, Kan.
About Take Care Health Systems(SM)
Take Care Health Systems (www.takecarehealth.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens, is part of Walgreens Health and Wellness division, which includes Take Care Consumer Solutions, managers of convenient care clinics located at select Walgreens drugstores nationwide, and Take Care Employer Solutions, managers of worksite-based health and wellness services. The company combines best practices in health care and the expertise and personal care of providers to deliver access to high-quality, affordable and convenient health care to all individuals. The Take Care Consumer Solutions group currently manages 223 Take Care Clinics in 29 and 15 states. Patient care at each of the Take Care Clinics is provided by Take Care Health Services, an independently owned state professional corporation established in each market. Take Care Employer Solutions manages primary care, health and wellness and occupational health centers at 364 employer campuses across 183 clients in 44 states, including the District of Columbia and Guam.
About Walgreens
Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation’s largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2008 sales of $59 billion. The company operates 6,443 drugstores in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Walgreens provides the most convenient access to consumer goods and cost-effective health care services in America through its retail drugstores, Walgreens Health Services division and Walgreens Health and Wellness division. Walgreens Health Services assists pharmacy patients and prescription drug and medical plans through Walgreens Health Initiatives Inc. (a pharmacy benefit manager), Walgreens Mail Service Inc., Walgreens Home Care Inc., Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy LLC and SeniorMed LLC (a pharmacy provider to long-term care facilities). Walgreens Health and Wellness division includes Take Care Health Systems, which is comprised of: Take Care Consumer Solutions, managers of 223 convenient care clinics at Walgreens drugstores, and Take Care Employer Solutions, managers of worksite-based health and wellness services at 364 employer campuses.