Giant Eagle, University Hospitals open walk-in health clinics

CLEVELAND Giant Eagle and University Hospitals last week announced a joint effort to open the first of four walk-in retail health clinics through clinic operator FastCare, located in Giant Eagle supermarkets across northeast Ohio.

“FastCare is excited to partner with Giant Eagle and University Hospitals to bring integrated, convenient, seven-day-a-week care to the Cleveland area. This service will improve access to care and help patients and employers minimize unnecessary emergency room visits and lower healthcare costs”, stated Ken Berndt, director of FastCare Development.

“Our partnership with University Hospitals takes our commitment to overall consumer health and wellness to a new level,” added Giant Eagle pharmacy VP Randy Heiser. “Our University Hospitals FastCare clinics provide Giant Eagle customers with fast and consistent access to a wide range of common medical services to accelerate their road to wellness.”

The types of conditions treated at the clinics will include sore and strep throats, fevers, flu and colds, ear and sinus infections, bronchitis, pink eye, bladder infections and allergies. The clinics will be linked to UH physicians, providing convenient access to University Hospitals’ community-based services. Upon registration, patient records are integrated with UH physician records. Additionally, UH FastCare will offer to send each patient’s primary care physician a report following any visit.

Heiser said that customers have reacted well to the company’s first in-store retail health clinic, which opened in one of Giant Eagle’s West Virginia stores in January. The clinics build on the company’s ongoing initiative to offer a broader range of health, beauty and wellness services, products and education via expanded in-store health-and-wellness departments. These departments are currently in select Ohio and Pennsylvania locations.