Report: Walgreens to acquire five pharmacies operated by hospital system Meritus Health

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — According to a Herald-Mail Media report published Thursday, Walgreens is set to acquire five Home Care pharmacies operated by hospital system Meritus Health within the next six weeks. 

The inpatient pharmacy that serves all patients of Meritus Medical Center is separate from the retail Home Care Pharmacy business and will remain unaffected, according to the report.

“We did a strategic assessment of our pharmacy business more than a year ago and recognized that like many other healthcare services, there are substantial changes taking place in the retail pharmacy market,” Meritus Health’s president and CEO Joseph Ross reported to the Herald-Mail. “We evaluated many potential partners and were most impressed with Walgreens for their level of commitment to customer service and quality patient care. After thorough and thoughtful review, we chose to partner with Walgreens. This enables Meritus Enterprises to continue to focus on its core business and continue to strengthen its physician practices in this era of healthcare reform.”