Walgreens and Hartford HealthCare are teaming up to bring clinics to areas of the state with limited access to health care.
A few Walgreens stores in our state are proving to be more than a place to shop or pick up prescriptions.
At some locations, you can now meet with a healthcare provider and get the treatment you need.
Hartford Healthcare is behind this effort, working to bring medical care closer to areas where it isn't so available.
"I think it's going to be great for a lot of people, especially us seniors and stuff like that where you don't have to do a lot of travel," Richard Perron of Enfield said.
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Perron is all for having a Hartford Healthcare clinic inside his local Walgreens store, located just three miles away from his home.
"It's close for us and it's handy, and it's better than going into Hartford," Perron said.
On Wednesday, hospital leaders gathered inside the Walgreens on 2 Shaker Rd. in Enfield to celebrate the opening of the clinic, which is located in the back of the store near the pharmacy.
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"This is how we're making healthcare better. Healthcare has to change. It has to become more accessible, more affordable, more equitable and better," Jeffrey Flaks said.
Providers can treat injuries and illnesses including upper respiratory infections, earaches, sore throat, fever, cuts and minor burns. They also offer blood pressure testing as well as other screenings.
"What we've seen is people just want to have access to their healthcare needs and pharmacy needs somewhere close by," Katie Lestan, Walgreen's divisional vice president of healthcare systems, said.
Lestan oversees Walgreens stores nationwide and worked with Hartford Healthcare to figure out where these clinics are greatly needed in Connecticut.
So far, there's one in Putnam, East Lyme and Enfield. Two more are expected to open in Norwalk and Manchester in July and August, respectively.
During the appointment, patients will have a medical assistant with them and a virtual primary healthcare provider on a screen in front of them.
"We wanted to have hybrid visits. We didn't want to have a provider there full time," Cherie Kerzner with Hartford Healthcare said.
Kerzner said this approach is to cut down on wait times.
"I think it's a great idea," Perron said.
The clinic in Enfield is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as well as Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You don't have to be Walgreens shopper or a Hartford Healthcare patient to make an appointment.
