Walmart to Open Retail Pharmacy on Campus

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Students, faculty and staff at the University of Arkansas will be able to stop at Walmart to pick up their prescriptions and even a few other items next year without ever having to leave campus. In January a retail pharmacy in a new Walmart on Campus will open in the Garland Avenue Shops.

The university’s Pat Walker Health Center established an in-house pharmacy in 1984 to serve students who were under the care of health center medical providers. As a specialty pharmacy, students received excellent care and attention. By 2010, however the advantages of being a specialty pharmacy had waned so the health center administration sought and found a retail pharmacy to establish on campus. The Pat Walker Health Center Pharmacy will close on Dec. 20 and is currently informing patients about their options to move their prescriptions to the new pharmacy on campus or to another pharmacy of their choosing.

Students, faculty, staff, visitors and community members will be able to access a complete retail pharmacy as well as a variety of groceries and other items when Walmart on Campus opens. Located in the north end of the Garland Avenue Shops, Walmart on Campus will have extended hours to meet the needs of the community. The store and pharmacy will be open to everyone in the area, not just the campus community.

“The Pat Walker Health Center anticipates a close working relationship with the Walmart on Campus,” said Mary Alice Serafini, executive director of the Pat Walker Health Center. “We believe that the new retail pharmacy will serve our community well with extended hours, access to most prescription insurance plans and close proximity to our health center facility and many on-campus residents.”

Walmart officials are looking forward to working with the university on this project. “We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the university and to bring a great place for the students and the surrounding community to purchase prescriptions and other items,” said Keith Keltner, associate marketing manager with Walmart. “This is Walmart's first store of its kind. Our full-service pharmacy that accepts a wide variety of insurance plans will be a great way to help the campus and neighborhood community save money with programs like $4 generic prescriptions. I think it's a really good fit.”