UHealth expands in South Florida

System takes over 17 Walgreens clinics

The University of Miami Health System is taking over walkin clinics at 17 South Florida Walgreens stories, including nine in Broward and Palm Beach counties, as the private university continues to expand its brand beyond Miami-Dade County.

Walgreens walk-in clinics are in nine of the retail chain’s locations north of Miami-Dade. In Broward, they are in Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Tamarac, Cooper City, Coconut Creek, and Weston. Stores in Palm Beach County are located in Boca Raton and Delray Beach.

In Miami-Dade, Walgreens stores with clinics are in North Miami, Hialeah, Miami Beach and Coral Gables, and four Miami locations.

Currently, the clinics are operated by an independent company called Take Care Health Services. Next spring, the 17 clinics will become part of the UM Health System and be renamed from Walgreens Clinics to UHealth Clinic — University of Miami Health System at Walgreens, according to a joint news release.

Dr. Thinh Tran, UHealth chief clinical official and chief operating officer, said patients of the university’s specialists and primary care physicians will find their health records available electronically to the advanced nurse practitioners who will staff the clinics.

As with typical urgent care facilities, the Walgreens clinics are intended to treat minor health problems such as colds, flus, upper respiratory infections and children with earaches or sore throats, Tran said.

And clinic visits will be covered as physician visits by all major insurers that include UHealth in their networks, he said.

As part of the arrangement, Walgreens will open pharmacies at three of the university’s health facilities, including the Lennar Foundation Medical Center in Coral Gables, and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and University of Miami Hospital in Miami. Walgreens will also provide pharmacy services to the university’s employees and their families, the release said.

UHealth has several satellite centers in Broward and Palm Beach counties, including branches of its Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Coral Springs, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood and Plantation, and its Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Plantation and Palm Beach Gardens.