Walmart Sponsors Americas Biggest Health Fair

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently kicked off a free health fair initiative at stores across the country.

In a press release, Walmart described its vision for the event: “Customers will see Walmart’s commitment come to life on Saturday, Oct. 10, when the retailer holds ‘America’s Biggest Health Fair.’ The event will take place in more than 4,400 stores across the U.S., from noon to 4 p.m. Free blood glucose, blood pressure, vision screenings, product samples and health insurance information will be available. In addition, more than 10,000 of Walmart’s licensed pharmacists will offer immunizations in select stores. Walmart expects to set record breaking numbers during the single-day health fair with hundreds of thousands of screenings and immunizations projected.”

America’s response to Walmart’s event was staggering. According to a Drug Store News article, over 300,000 people took advantage of the free screenings and educational opportunities.

Based on population health management statistics, Walmart executives believe that means 3,000 cases of diabetes and 7,000 cases of high blood pressure were possibly diagnosed during that first health fair, according to the article.

In addition to providing health screenings and immunizations, Walmart partnered with Jackson Hewitt to provide attendees with access to information about health insurance options. Agents attended the fairs and helped participants understand their options under Medicare or the national health exchange.

Customers who missed the October fair shouldn’t despair, though. Walmart is also planning a January event as a way of supporting customer’s New Year resolutions, said Alex Hurd, Walmart’s senior director of health and wellness, product development, growth and payer innovation.

“We know the New Year brings a new focus on getting healthy for our customers, so we will be hosting another health fair on Jan. 16 in stores across the country. We want to help our customers and their families get well and stay well all year long,” Hurd said.

 “‘America’s Biggest Health Fair’ is just one way we’re helping customers live healthier lives,” he added. “We’re equipping our customers with solutions for total health management which spans from nutrition, fitness, preventative care and treatment.

“In addition to over-the-counter medicines, prescriptions, diabetes products and access to advice on health insurance, we have the majority of products customers actually need to live a healthier life such as organics, active wear, exercise equipment and wearable technology,” Hurd said.

Increased Commitment

Walmart’s health and wellness efforts have intensified over the past couple of years, although the company made significant waves back in 2006 when it announced its plan to fulfill 30-day supplies of generic prescription drugs for only $4. While selling some generics at ultra-low cost has become commonplace, Walmart’s move represented a major shift in the way pharmacies did business.

At the time, National Public Radio reported that, “Generic drugs are a less-expensive alternative to name-brand drugs, but they still come at a cost.”

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores reported that the average price to fill a prescription for a generic drug was $29, compared to an average of $102 for name-brand drugs, according to the 2006 NPR piece.

Dropping the average price of a generic prescription from $29 (equal to over $34 in today’s economy), to $4 was a radical move.

It also paid off. Other retailers eventually followed suit, making “cheap generics” a standard practice in America’s pharmacies.

Over time, Walmart began to spearhead other health and wellness initiatives. Increasingly, these initiatives focused on prevention rather than treatment.

For example, in 2011 Walmart partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama to improve access to healthy foods. Walmart’s efforts included increasing the selection of fresh produce at its stores, reducing added salts and sugars in its private label brands, and developing a “Great for You” label campaign that helped shoppers easily identify foods that meet national nutrition guidelines.

In 2013, a Walmart press release quoted Obama praising the effort.

“For years, the conventional wisdom said that healthy products simply didn’t sell — that the demand wasn’t there, that higher profits were found elsewhere, so it just wasn’t worth the investment,” she said, according to the press release. “Thanks to Walmart and so many other great American businesses, we are proving the conventional wisdom wrong. Every day, with their success, these companies are showing us that what’s good for kids and good for family budgets can also be good for business.”

In 2014, Walmart solidified its commitment to organics by partnering with Wild Oats to sell low-cost organic canned vegetables. Walmart also announced that it was asking suppliers to eliminate or reduce their use of certain toxic chemicals in consumer products, and fellow retailer Target followed suit in 2015.

Shelf Placement

Following retail industry trends, Walmart also began to reassess product placement, announcing in October a decision to move protein bars to the grocery aisles where customers can more easily find them.

“The move comes as Wal-Mart and many other rivals are going on a health kick aimed at their customers as they fight to grab a bigger share of the wellness and healthy-food business,” the Associated Press reported. “Target Corp. announced last month that it was pushing granola bars and healthy grab-and-go snacks over candy at the checkout aisles in 30 of its stores. And CVS Health Corp. is also adding more fresh foods and healthier snacks at many of its locations while moving bagged candy out of prime store space in the first aisle.”

Other initiatives included in-store health clinics that offer low-cost health care to store associates and customers alike. Walmart Vision Centers got a boost when Walmart teamed up with actress Drew Barrymore to add a high fashion prescription eyewear line to Barrymore’s Flower beauty product range. Some supercenters even encourage locals to walk laps around the store as a safer alternative to walking outdoors.

In a recent press release, Michelle Gloeckler, executive vice president of health and wellness and consumables at Walmart U.S. noted: “From managing diabetes to running your first 5K and simply putting a healthy dinner on the table, we’re equipping our customers with solutions for total health management which spans from nutrition, fitness, preventative care and treatment.”