Content about Economy of the United States

DES MOINES, Iowa — OutcomesMTM, a medication therapy management delivery system, on Tuesday recognized its top chain and independent pharmacies for 2012. Walgreens and Kerr Drug were named top large pharmacy chain and top regional pharmacy chain, respectively.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam's Club will offer free allergy and health screenings at all of its stores that operate pharmacies, the club retailer said.

The screenings will take place late Saturday morning and into the afternoon, and include up to $200 worth of tests, including allergy screenings for milk, eggs, pet dander, mold, dust mites, wheat, ragweed, mountain cedar, Bermuda grass and Timothy grass, as well as tests for blood pressure, body mass index and vision.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy will sponsor more than 750 Project Health events in more than 10 cities, offering free health screenings to multicultural communities, the retail pharmacy chain said Monday.

Project Health, or Proyecto Salud in Spanish, will deliver more than $15 million worth of free health screenings in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phiadelphia and Washington, as well as select CVS/pharmacy stores in Puerto Rico.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Target will open its first locations in Canada on Tuesday, the mass merchandise retailer said.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee is taking over a construction company that builds its stores and related facilities, the supermarket chain said Friday.

Hy-Vee said it would buy the Weitz Co.'s interest in Hy-Vee Weitz Construction, a joint venture it entered in 1995 to complete Hy-Vee construction projects more efficiently and economically. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rite Aid announced Friday that it had expanded its "virtual clinic" model to additional markets, now offering NowClinic Online Care service in 58 stores.

Retail clinics are an area in which Rite Aid has not invested to the same degree as Walgreens and CVS, but NowClinic shows that there are more ways to offer clinical services in a retail pharmacy setting than building an extra clinic. In 2011, Rite Aid became the first to provide such virtual clinics in a retail pharmacy setting when it launched the program as a pilot in nine stores in Detroit.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — First Lady Michelle Obama paid a special visit to a local Walmart Neighborhood Market store on Thursday to praise the efforts of the retail giant on its initiatives to put healthier, more affordable items on its shelves and thus, into the shopping carts of its millions of customers.

Three years ago, the First Lady created the "Let’s Move" healthy food initiative and the following year Walmart unveiled five broad commitments that aligned with her vision for ending childhood obesity within a generation.

NEW YORK — While the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program helps to keep some 50 million low-income Americans from going hungry, it excludes pet food, forcing many to give up their nonhuman family members. But a new program aims to alleviate the problem.

The Pet Food Stamps Program is a nonprofit group in New York that has a partnership with online pet products retailer PetFlow.com, whereby beneficiaries can receive a monthly home delivery of supplies for free.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Kmart's comps declined 3.7% for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012, while parent company Sears Holdings' integrated online business grew by 25% for the quarter and 17% for the year, Sears Holdings said Thursday.

Sears' U.S. stores, on the other hand, posted a 0.8% increase in comps for the fourth quarter and a 1.4% decrease for the year, while the company's Canadian stores saw comps decline by 3.8% for the quarter and 5.6% for the year.

GREAT NECK, N.Y. — MinuteClinic, the retail healthcare division of CVS Caremark and North Shore-LIJ Health System (North Shore-LIJ), one of the nation's largest healthcare providers, have signed a clinical collaboration to enhance access to high-quality healthcare services in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.

MINNEAPOLIS — Upon the closing of Supervalu's sale of five pharmacy banners to Albertsons LLC, Dan Salemi will assume the role of president of pharmacy at the new Albertsons LLC, DSN has learned.

Salemi will succeed Supervalu president pharmacy operations Chris Dimos. Dimos will remain in his current role until the transaction closes. Supervalu has not named a pharmacy head for the 191 retail operations that will remain with Supervalu.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark president and CEO Larry Merlo presented a $50,000 check Tuesday to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center before attending a luncheon sponsored by the Economic Club of Pittsburgh.