As Walmart pushes deeper into healthcare, the retail giant is rolling out education benefit programs to help its employees prepare for new jobs.
Five things to know:
1. Beginning Sept. 24, Walmart's 1.5 million workers in the U.S. can apply for one of seven bachelor's degrees and two career diplomas in health-related fields through Live Better U, Walmart's education benefit program. Employees pay only $1 a day for the duration of their college or career programs.
2. The seven bachelor's degrees, which include health science and healthcare management, are offered through Purdue University Global, Southern New Hampshire University, Bellevue University and Wilmington University. The career diploma programs for pharmacy technicians and opticians are offered through Penn Foster.
3. The new programs will help train employees to fill healthcare jobs across Walmart and Sam's Club, which include more than 5,000 retail pharmacies, 3,000 vision centers, 400 hearing centers and Walmart Health, a standalone health clinic in Dallas, Ga., that opened earlier this month.
4. Depending on the success of the standalone primary care clinic in Georgia, Walmart may open more Walmart Health clinics in the future. The retailer also plans to offer home health services and mobile units that offer specialty services, such as dermatology or women's health, according to Business Insider.
5. "Our presence in thousands of communities gives us a unique opportunity to provide access to affordable healthcare to millions of people, and we need trained associates in order to do so," Thomas Van Gilder, MD, CMO at Walmart, said in a press release. "As our health and wellness strategy and offerings continue to evolve, Live Better U will play a critical role in preparing our associates across the country for future work opportunities in the growing healthcare field."
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