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Take Care Health Systems(SM) and Eckerd Pharmacy Partner to Bring High-Quality, Affordable and Convenient Health Care to Pittsburgh Residents

Posted on: Monday, 18 September 2006, 15:00 CDT

Ten New Walk-In Health Care Clinics are First-of-Their-Kind to

Open in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh residents are the latest to benefit from a new health care delivery model sweeping the nation, Take Care Health Systems announced today. One of the leading operators of convenient care clinics will open 10 Take Care Health Centers inside Eckerd Pharmacies in Pittsburgh over the next month, offering consumers easy access to high-quality health care.

"This is the first time this type of convenient and affordable health care is being offered to Pittsburgh residents, and we are excited to partner with Eckerd Pharmacy to bring this service to the community," said Peter Miller, Take Care Health President, CEO and co-founder. "Our clinics, which are staffed by certified Nurse Practitioners who have a passion for caring for patients, provide consumers with a convenient health care option for treating common family ailments such as allergies, strep throat and the flu."

Take Care Health Centers in Pittsburgh do not require appointments and are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ten Take Care Health Centers will open in the following Eckerd Pharmacy locations over the next month, beginning as early as this week: Take Care Health Center locations: -- 417 Chartiers Street, -- 100 Seven Fields Boulevard, Bridgeville Seven Fields -- 165 Butler Road, Kittanning -- 314 East Pittsburgh Street, Greensburg* -- 4011 William Penn Highway, -- 8775 Norwin Avenue, Irwin* Monroeville -- 1125-1135 Freeport Road, -- 3200 Oregon Drive, Lower Pittsburgh Burrell* -- 1 Walsh Road, Pittsburgh -- 351 Brighton Avenue, Rochester* * Locations open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"The walk-in health care clinics illustrate our company's goal to be the primary supplier of pharmacy and health care services in the communities we serve," said Dan Haron, Senior Vice-President of Pharmacy, Brooks Eckerd Pharmacy. "We are committed to delivering the highest standards of customer service and best practices to ensure delivery of high quality care. The health care clinics are a convenient and accessible setting for all consumers and we are very pleased to offer this type of high-quality service to our Western Pennsylvania customers."

Take Care Health Centers are locally operated by Take Care Health Pennsylvania, PC. Take Care Nurse Practitioners (TCNPs) treat patients 18 months and older for common, acute ailments. They diagnose, treat and write commonly used prescriptions for illnesses including ear infections; sinus, upper respiratory and bladder infections; pink eye; poison ivy; and laryngitis among others. The TCNPs also offer standard diagnostic screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar, and pregnancy and provide camp and sport physicals. A limited number of vaccinations, including flu shots and boosters for tetanus shots, will be offered in the coming months.

Take Care Health accepts Medicare, Medicaid and some commercial insurance plans. For insured patients, the cost of a clinic visit is generally the same as the office visit co-pay. For uninsured patients or cash payers, the average fee for service ranges from $59-$74 per visit.

Insurance plans covering a visit to Take Care Health Centers in Pittsburgh include: -- HealthAmerica (HMO, PPO, POS) -- Humana Medicare - Gold PFFS/HumanaChoice PPO -- HealthAssurance (PPO, CCPO, -- UnitedHealthcare ASO) -- First Health/CCN -- Medicare (Traditional/Part B) -- Humana - PPO/Classic

Major insurance plans will be added within the next 30 days as further contracts are finalized.

Collaboration with Health Associates of Western PA

Take Care Health will collaborate with physicians from Health Associates of Western PA, a family physician network affiliated with Pittsburgh Mercy Health Systems, to ensure high-quality health care and integration of patient care. Health Associates of Western PA coordinates the collaborating physician agreements for the TCNPs who staff the area health clinics. A select group of physicians from Health Associates of Western PA are part of Take Care Health's quality health care initiative, performing quality review on a portion of Take Care Health's patient health records, complementing the company's internal quality and safety programs.

"Take Care Health has developed a health care model that fills a need in the community - walk-in health care that is convenient and accessible for patients," said Dr. Bill Johnjulio, President of Health Associates of Western PA. "We look forward to our partnership with Take Care Health to help participate in the quality care within the clinics and assist in shaping this emerging new industry."

Take Care Health remains committed to working with the greater health care community in Pittsburgh towards a shared goal of providing patients accessible, patient-focused, quality health care. If a patient's condition falls outside of the center's scope of practice, TCNPs will refer this patient back to their primary care provider. If the patient doesn't have a primary care provider, the TCNP will help him/her find one. Take Care Health will work with Health Associates of Western PA as well as other primary care physicians and specialists in the Pittsburgh region to foster a strong referral network for patients to get care they need, when they need it. Take Care Health encourages all patients to have a medical home, which is a primary care provider who is aware of and coordinates all of that person's care and medical records.

Take Care Health supports the guidelines set forth for the industry by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Association.

To date, Take Care Health operates 35 centers, including the 10 opening in Pittsburgh, as well as locations open in St. Louis, Kansas City and Portland. Take Care Health will open up to 20 centers this fall in Chicago area Walgreens stores. Take Care Health plans to open 200 centers by June 2007 and more than 1,000 centers in U.S. cities by 2009.

About Take Care Health Systems

Take Care Health Systems (www.takecarehealth.com) of Conshohocken, Pa., a leading independent operator of convenient care clinics, is bringing high-quality, convenient and affordable health care to all Americans. Take Care Health's vision to combine best practices in medicine and the expertise and personal care of Take Care Nurse Practitioners (TCNPs) with world-class customer service is filling a critical need in America by providing easy access to health care. Take Care Health Centers are located inside national retail pharmacies where TCNPs focus exclusively on diagnosis, treatment, screening and vaccinations for common family illnesses. Take Care Health collaborates with the medical communities in the markets where it operates and supports the guidelines for convenient care clinics, set forth by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).

About The Jean Coutu Group

The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc. (www.jeancoutu.com) is the fourth largest drugstore chain in North America and the second largest in both the Eastern United States and Canada. The company and its combined network of 2,185 corporate and franchised drugstores (under the banners of Brooks and Eckerd Pharmacy, PJC Jean Coutu, PJC Clinique and PJC Sante Beaute) employ more than 61,000 people.

The Jean Coutu Group's U.S. operations employ 46,000 people and comprise 1,858 corporate owned stores located in 18 states of the Northeastern, mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Jean Coutu Group's Canadian operations and franchised drugstores in its network employ over 15,000 people and comprise 327 PJC Jean Coutu franchised stores in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario.

Source: Business Wire

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