WALGREENS

NEW YORK — CVS/pharmacy. Rite Aid. Walgreens. Sam’s Club. Ahold. H-E-B. The Katz Group. Giant Eagle. Good Neighbor. Health Mart. The list of participating companies in the 13th Annual Drug Store News Group Industry Issues conference — which will be held Tuesday, Nov. 29, here at the highly prestigious New York Athletic Club — reads like a “who’s who” of pharmacy retailing.

LOS ANGELES — Ethnic hair care brand Curls has announced that its hair care collection is now available at Walgreens, Rite Aid and Sally’s Beauty.

The Curls line contains all-natural ingredients and is free of sulfates, parabens, minerals or petroleum oils.

The products available include:

CHICAGO — Walgreens now has certified more than 500 of its pharmacies as HIV Centers of Excellence in communities highly impacted by HIV, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the pharmacy operator announced Thursday at the U.S. Conference on AIDS.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Thursday announced it is offering a discount to all veterans and active duty military on Veterans Day, in recognition of their service and commitment to the country.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday announced the company is donating nearly $400,000 worth of personal care items to the United Service Organizations to support operations in Landstuhl, Germany. The donation includes first aid items, toiletries, diapers and baby bottles, as well as coloring books, gum and playing cards.

The donation was shipped in late October and should arrive by Veterans Day, Walgreens noted.

PHOENIX — The University of Arizona Cancer Center, in partnership with Walgreens, last month opened a specialty outpatient pharmacy on-site to meet the needs of its patients.

LOS ANGELES — The Magic Johnson Foundation on Monday initiated Point Forward Day, marking 20 years to the date that Johnson announced his HIV status and subsequent retirement from the National Basketball Association.

In partnership with AIDS Healthcare Foundation, MJF will host free confidential testing events at retailers, including Walgreens in Chicago.  At select locations, testing will include participation from government officials, dignitaries and athletes who will lead their communities by getting tested first at on site mobile units.

October sure was a busy month for news in the drug channel. It began in earnest on Oct. 1, the day CVS’ new president officially began his new job. Before the month was over, CVS’ chief merchant left to become president of Family Dollar, and his responsibilities would be carved up between three key executives.