Walmart plans to open four healthcare centers in the Houston area in April, followed by four more in the summer and fall. The new clinics are part of the retailers plans to have over 75 Walmart Health Centers by early 2025, reports the Houston Chronicle.
The healthcare centers, each about 6,000 square feet, will combine primary, behavioral and dental care with labs, X-rays and hearing services.
"Even in a crowded place like Houston, where there are lots of healthcare choices, we don't think anyone approaches primary preventive care exactly the way we do," David Carmouche, MD, senior vice president of healthcare delivery for Walmart, told the Houston Chronicle. Dr. Carmouche is one of several former health system executives who have joined Walmart Health.
Walmart has 48 health centers across Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Texas, with plans for 18 more in Texas and four in Missouri this year and six in Arizona early next year, a spokesperson told Becker's. The Arizona clinics were originally planned for 2024 but were delayed till early 2025 because of "construction resources," while the retailer is pausing plans to build four health centers in Oklahoma. "We're always reviewing current market dynamics in all our locations," the spokesperson said.
"I think what we've recognized from the beginning is it's hard," Dr. Carmouche told the news outlet. "We'd rather be a little bit more pragmatic, learn, develop something that works, and then once we have that, then scale it."
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