Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General has announced the planned expansion of its healthcare offering to continue to meet more of its customers’ needs and establish itself as a health destination.
Among other aspects, the company said this will include an increased assortment of cough and cold, dental, nutritional, medical, health aids and feminine hygiene products across many of its stores.
According to Dollar General, 75 percent of the U.S. population lives within about five miles of one of its more than 17,000 stores. The company recognizes the access it provides to rural communities often underserved by other retailers, as well as the healthcare ecosystem.
“We are always looking for new ways to serve and our customers have told us that they would like to see increased access to affordable healthcare products and services in their communities,” said CEO Todd Vasos. “Our goal is to build and enhance affordable healthcare offerings for our customers, especially in the rural communities we serve.”
Dollar General also announced the appointment of Albert Wu, M.D. to the newly created position of VP, chief medical officer. In this role, he will help to develop the company’s health care services efforts by establishing and strengthening relationships with current and prospective healthcare product and service providers to build a comprehensive network of affordable services for customers.
“[Wu’s] impressive experience brings a unique perspective to our operations and will be critical as we look to develop our health care services offering,” Vasos said.
Wu joins Dollar General from McKinsey & Company, where he had worked since 2016. During that time, he led a team to create a total cost of care model for 250,000 rural healthcare patients.
In addition, he oversaw multiple hospital provider turnarounds totaling $2-5 billion in revenue; designed a digitally-driven healthcare insurance product offering; and provided guidance to analysts modeling ventilation and pharmaceutical needs to support COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.
In other company news, Dollar General has entered into an operational partnership with Feeding America and has made a $1 million donation to the organization. See the story here.
