Walmart is making a big push into healthcare. But first, it plans to train its employees to fill open spots in clinics and pharmacies.
- Walmart is helping its workers go to school for careers in health and wellness.
- Through Walmart's Live Better U program, associates can apply to work their way toward certifications to work as pharmacy technicians and opticians or toward degrees in healthcare management and administration and health science.
- Healthcare jobs are booming in the US, and Walmart is making a deeper push into healthcare through its new Walmart Health clinics.
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As Walmart makes a bigger push into healthcare, it's helping its workers get the training they might need to fill roles in clinics and pharmacies.
Through Walmart's Live Better U program, associates can apply to work their way toward certifications to work as pharmacy technicians and opticians, or degrees in healthcare management and administration and health science, Walmart said on Tuesday.
"This is a huge opportunity for us as a company, health and wellness," said Drew Holler, the senior vice president of associate experience for Walmart US. "We know this is an area of the business that we want to grow and expand."
Walmart workers pay $1 a day for their education, and until now they've been able to pursue degrees in fields like supply-chain management and business administration. To date, about 13,500 associates have been accepted into the program.
Thomas Van Gilder, Walmart's chief medical officer, pointed to the influx of healthcare jobs to the market as one reason behind the decision to offer health degrees and certifications. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare jobs are expected to increase 14% from 2018 to 2028.
"We see these offerings as positioning Walmart and Sam's Club associates really to succeed in the changing economy," Van Gilder said.
Walmart is moving deeper into healthcare, creating a need for more workers in the field. Walmart in September opened its first Walmart Health locations in Dallas, Georgia.
Hiring for Walmart's health clinics
The retail giant plans to offer services such as primary care, counseling, home care, and dentistry, Sean Slovenski, Walmart's president of health and wellness, told Business Insider. Walmart is starting by opening "prototype" health centers in northern Georgia that could quickly make Walmart into the largest provider of basic healthcare in the region.
The goal, he said, is to do for healthcare what Walmart's supercenter stores did for retail: offer a breadth of services conveniently and at a much lower price point than rivals'. For instance, a primary-care visit costs $40, while a dental visit costs $25.
Van Gilder said that as Walmart built out the clinics, they'd require more healthcare employees, including people to help patients sign up and get to their appointments as well as healthcare professionals who could assist doctors and nurses with other non-health issues a patient might be facing.
"As we deliver high-touch care in our communities, we see roles like community health worker and care host, as we call them, also being areas of growth within health and wellness to help patients navigate their healthcare journey and their social and health needs," Van Gilder said.
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