The Walgreens Way to Well Health Tour with the National Urban League and AARP provided free health tests to more than one million people nationwide
Cincinnati, July 24, 2014 – On the opening day of the National Urban League Annual Conference, Marc Morial, National Urban League president and CEO, and John Gremer, Walgreens director of community affairs, announced with AARP, more than one million people nationwide received free health tests and education through the Walgreens Way to Well Health Tour. The announcement recognizes a significant milestone for Walgreens (NYSE:WAG) (Nasdaq:WAG) and the National Urban League as they celebrate their eight-year effort to bring free preventive and early detection health services to urban and minority communities across the country.
To celebrate this important milestone, the Way to Well Health Tour’s mobile health testing vehicle and its certified wellness staff will be in the conference’s Health Zone & Expo Hall to administer the free health tests. In addition to receiving free health screenings, conference participants have the opportunity help assemble back to school kits with items donated by Walgreens for underserved children in the Cincinnati community.
“We are proud to provide more than one million people in thousands of communities nationwide access to free critical health screenings and education in collaboration with the National Urban League and AARP,” said John Gremer, Walgreens director of community affairs, “We look forward to reaching more individuals starting off right here in Cincinnati at the National Urban League Annual Conference.”
Walgreens, the National Urban League and AARP have a long-standing commitment to improving health outcomes in minority communities. Since 2006, the Way to Well Health Tour with the National Urban League has provided more than $12 million worth of free health tests to community members in hundreds of urban communities nationwide. The current health tour provides a series of tests to adults over the age of 18 including cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, and more aimed at early detection of chronic diseases that disproportionately affect minority and urban communities. Collectively the bundle of free health tests is valued at more than $100.
“The National Urban League is pleased to continue its eight-year effort with Walgreens through the Way to Well Health Tour,” said Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League. “We share a commitment to improving the health outcomes in our communities and are looking forward to continuing to work together to empower people to live healthier lives.”
“We are excited to work alongside Walgreens to achieve healthier communities nationwide,” said John Wider, president and CEO of AARP Services, Inc. “This health tour enables us all to come together and serve America’s growing population of people over the age of 50 and supply those with the help they need to achieve optimum health.”
The Walgreens Way to Well Health Tour is one of the charitable components of the Walgreens Way to Well Commitment®, which began in 2011 as a four-year, $100 million initiative to improve the everyday health of Americans nationwide. The initiative is also dedicated to providing accessible, affordable resources for prevention and early detection of chronic diseases – heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Heart disease and cancer are the two leading causes of death in the U.S., while diabetes is the nation’s fastest-growing disease over the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To learn when the Way to Well Health Tour is serving a neighborhood near you, visit Walgreens.com/WaytoWell.
About Walgreens
As the nation’s largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2013 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to be the first choice in health and daily living for everyone in America, and beyond. Each day, in communities across America, more than 8 million customers interact with Walgreens using the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with online and mobile services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,215 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Walgreens digital business includes Walgreens.com, drugstore.com, Beauty.com, SkinStore.com and VisionDirect.com. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that manages more than 400 in-store convenient care clinics throughout the country.
About the National Urban League
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. Today, the National Urban League has 95 affiliates serving 300 communities, in 35 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide. For more information, visit: www.nul.org
About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of more than 37 million, that helps people turn their goals and dreams into real possibilities, strengthens communities and fights for the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare, employment and income security, retirement planning, affordable utilities and protection from financial abuse. We advocate for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name as well as help our members obtain discounts on a wide range of products, travel, and services. A trusted source for lifestyle tips, news and educational information, AARP produces AARP The Magazine, the world’s largest circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin; www.aarp.org; AARP TV & Radio; AARP Books; and AARP en Espanol, a Spanish-language website addressing the interests and needs of Hispanics. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity of AARP that is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.
About AARP Services, Inc.
AARP Services, Inc., founded in 1999, is a wholly-owned taxable subsidiary of AARP. AARP Services manages the provider relationships for and performs quality control oversight of the wide range of products and services that carry the AARP name and are made available by independent providers as benefits to AARP’s millions of members. The provider offers currently span health products, financial products, travel and leisure products, and life event services. Specific products include Medicare supplemental insurance; credit cards, auto and home, mobile home and motorcycle insurance, life insurance and annuities; member discounts on rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and lodging; special offers on technology and gifts; pharmacy services and legal services. AARP Services also engages in new product development activities for AARP and provides certain consulting services to outside companies.
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