Walgreens Health Clinics Launch in 2 Florida Stores: Locations Revealed

Walgreens Faces Challenges and Explores New Strategies

Walgreens, like many other retail chains, has been facing significant challenges in recent years due to declining consumer spending since the pandemic. The company has experienced a decline in sales, partly due to competition from CVS, Costco, and online retailers such as Amazon. Additionally, customer dissatisfaction has grown because of an increasing number of locked-up merchandise items, which have made shopping more inconvenient for consumers.

An April agreement to pay $300 million to settle allegations that it illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances further impacted the company’s financial health. Despite these difficulties, Walgreens is taking steps to adapt and improve its services.

In October 2024, the pharmacy-convenience store chain announced plans to close about 1,200 stores across the United States. As part of its strategy, the company has also increased its use of robots to fill prescriptions, aiming to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

A New Collaboration for Health Care Services

A new collaboration could bring additional medical care options to customers. Premier Medical, a Central Florida-based medical group under NeueHealth, is opening in-store clinics at two Florida Walgreens locations in July. These clinics will be located in Davenport and Orlando, with specific addresses not yet released.

According to a July 16 release, the clinics will offer a range of services, including primary care, preventive screenings, and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. They will serve patients enrolled in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, commercial, and select Medicaid plans.

“We offer both appointment and walk-ins for both locations,” said Danilo Arsenijevith, Vice-President of Growth and Development at Premier Medical. The Orlando Walgreens clinic opened on July 7, and the Davenport one is set to open on July 28.

Young Chang, Regional Healthcare Director for Walgreens, emphasized the importance of bringing high-quality care directly into the community. “We’re bringing trusted, high-quality care directly into our stores — making it easier for patients to get the services they need, right in their neighborhood.”

Locations of New In-Store Clinics

The Walgreens locations getting the new clinics are:

Orlando: - 5601 N Hiawassee Road, opened July 7

Davenport: - 40083 Highway 27, opening July 28

A third clinic is planned for an Ocala Walgreens later this year, with Premier Medical looking at a location in Eustis for early 2026. Additional locations in Central Florida are also being considered.

Store Closures in Florida

Walgreens has announced plans to close about 1,200 stores across the U.S., starting with approximately 500 stores in fiscal year 2025. This includes at least two locations in Florida:

Jacksonville: - 5340 Soutel Drive (Closing May 19) - Prescriptions will be transferred to 7512 Lem Turner Road

Jacksonville: - 866 Dunn Ave. (Closing June 26) - Prescriptions will be transferred to 11135 Lem Turner Road

Addressing Customer Concerns

Walgreens has acknowledged that locking up merchandise has led to lower sales. After implementing more locked cases to prevent theft, the company faced backlash from shoppers frustrated by the inconvenience of having to find an employee to access products like toothpaste and makeup.

Timothy Wentworth, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., admitted during a January 10 call that locking up items does impact sales. “We've kind of proven that pretty conclusively.” He mentioned that the company's asset protection team is exploring creative solutions to address the customer experience related to shrink.

Embracing Automation

Since 2021, Walgreens has expanded the use of micro-fulfillment centers that use robots to fill thousands of prescriptions. This has allowed pharmacy staff to focus more on patient interaction. However, the company paused expansion in 2023 to gather feedback and improve performance at existing sites. After over a year of upgrades, the initiative resumed, with the goal of having 11 micro-fulfillment centers serving more than 5,000 stores by the end of the year.

As of February, robot-based centers handled 40% of the prescriptions from the pharmacies they support.

Going Private Under New Acquisition

In March, Walgreens Boots Alliance announced an agreement to be acquired by an entity affiliated with private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $23.7 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to shareholder and other closing conditions. Once completed, Walgreens Boots Alliance will become a private company.