CVS headed to Greene?

By Susan Gibbs Record Reporter
Published: September 11, 2008

A 13,225-square-foot CVS store with drive-thru services could be coming to Ruckersville.
Application was made on August 19 by Ryan Perkins of Kimberly-Horn and Associates of Richmond to build a store on three-and-a-quarter acres on U.S. Route 29 just northwest of its intersection with U.S. Route 33.
Company officials refused comment: “We only confirm or comment on new store locations if there is a signed agreement for a site,“ explained Mike DeAngelis, public relations director for the CVS/pharmacy division of CVS Caremark Corporation.
Greene’s Planning Department officials say that the application is currently under review; that comments must be received from Rapidan Service Authority and the Virginia Department of Transportation and the health department before it can be approved.
“The process usually takes about six months,“ says Greene County Planner Stephanie Golon.
The developer is not required to appear before either the County’s Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors.
According to various news releases:
• CVS/pharmacy is the retail pharmacy division of CVS Caremark. It sells prescription drugs and a wide assortment of general merchandise, including over-the-counter drugs, beauty products and cosmetics, film and photo finishing services, seasonal merchandise, greeting cards and convenience cards.
• In 2006, CVS acquired Minneapolis-based MinuteClinic, the largest provider of retail-based health clinics in the United States. MinuteClinic healthcare clinics are staffed with board-certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants trained to diagnose and treat common family illnesses such as strep throat and ear, eye, sinus, bladder and bronchial infections, and provide prescriptions when clinicj1jally appropriate.
• In 2007 CVS merged with Nashville-based Caremark Rx Inc., a pharmacy-benefit manager that operates drug programs for companies, managed-care groups and health benefits programs. At the time, Caremark set consumers’ co-payments, negotiated discounts with manufacturers of drugs, distributed them by mail order or contracted with pharmacies.
• The new CVS Caremark Corporation services businesses, including the combined pharmacy benefits management specialty pharmacy, and disease management businesses. It is the largest private-sector buyer of prescription drugs, filling or managing more than a billion prescriptions a year.