Walgreens closes more VillageMD clinics

Walgreens Boots Alliance continues with its VillageMD clinic closure tour, this time announcing six locations in Illinois will shut down on April 19, reports Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. 

One of the closed clinics in Elk Grove just opened last August. 

“After careful consideration and analysis, we have made the decision to exit the Illinois market,” Walgreens said in an emailed statement to Supermarket News. “We are committed to helping our teams during this transition and we are working diligently to care for our patients during this transition. This includes offering care to them during this transition and the resources they need to access care and their medical records.

“High-quality care for our patients is always our top priority and we are working diligently to ensure this is a smooth transition for them.”

Walgreens has been trying to shed $1 billion in capital expenses over the last few months, and the VillageMD clinics have been among the primary targets. 

Just last week, the Northbrook, Ill.-based retailer announced it was closing all of its Village MD clinics in Florida. In October 2023, the city of Jacksonville lost all 10 of its VillageMD locations. 

Walgreens said moving out of the state of Florida would allow the company to zero in on areas with more market power. 

Related:Walgreens now accepting online use of Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits

In January, a dozen VillageMD clinics were closed in the state of Indiana. New sites called Village Medical were opened as early as 2021. 

Walgreens bought a major stake in VillageMD for $5.2 billion in 2021.