One less health care option will be available for residents in Northeast Florida. Walmart announced Tuesday that it’s closing all its health centers, including six here.
The company said in a news release that managing 51 centers across five states — Florida, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois and Texas — was not a sustainable business option. The company cited a challenging reimbursement environment and higher operating costs that led to the company not making money.
The health centers provided a range of health care services that included primary care, labs, behavioral health, dental and more.
There are six Walmart health centers in Northeast Florida, five in Jacksonville and one in Middleburg.
The Jacksonville locations are:
- 4250 Philips Highway, Unit 100.
- 11900 Atlantic Boulevard, Unit 1.
- 10991 San Jose Boulevard, Unit 100.
- 12100 Lem Turner Road, Unit 100.
- 7075 Collins Road, Unit 100.
The location in Middleburg is at 1586 Branan Field Road.
Walmart has not said when the health centers will close, but the company said it will let customers know when a date has been finalized. Until then, the company said it will support customers in finding health care providers within their insurance network.
Local resident Cecilia Lee told Jacksonville Today news partner News4Jax that the news of the closings came as a shock to her.
“Well I hope that they decide that it is going to affect a lot of people in different ways and that they decide to maybe keep it open a little bit longer,” Lee said.
In the company’s news release, it said the decision to close health centers will not affect nearly 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers.
Walmart said it will offer eligible health center employees the chance to transfer to another Walmart or Sam’s Club. All employees will be paid for 90 days unless they transfer or leave the company. After the 90 days, employees who have not left or transfered will receive severance payments.