Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA, +0.02% said Thursday that it plans to launch eight primary care and pharmacy practices with VillageMD in the Tucson area. The first Village Medical at Walgreens in Tucson will open Feb. 8. The Tucson locations will create 250 full-time jobs, including nurses, doctors and medical assistants. Village Medical at Walgreens can help patients with chronic illnesses as well as everyday injuries. There are plans for more than 200 Village Medical at Walgreens locations by the end of the year. Eighty-one have already opened across the following markets: Arizona, where it already has a presence in Phoenix, Florida, Texas, Kentucky and Indiana. Walgreens announced a $5.2 billion investment in VillageMD in October, and created a new reporting segment, Walgreens Health, during its most recent earnings. The company is expected to get a business boost from COVID vaccines and at-home testing in 2022. Walgreens stock has gained 11.3% over the past year while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.97% is up 17.7% for the period.
