Hy-Vee Appoints First-Ever Chief Medical Officer

In his new role, Fick will oversee Hy-Vee’s existing health and medical initiatives as well as the development of new services and offerings, Drug Store News reported. 

“As a leading health care provider to communities of all sizes, we welcome Dr. Fick to the Hy-Vee family,” Randy Edeker, chairman, CEO and president of Hy-Vee, said in a statement. “The past several months have shown us just how critical health care professionals are to our individual and public health, and how important it is that all residents of a community have access to the health care they need. With Dr. Fick on our team, our Hy-Vee locations can further expand their roles in making lives easier, healthier and happier for our customers through our pharmacy, health care and wellness offerings.”

Fick currently serves as clinical professor of family medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and part of the provider group for the Executive Health Program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and he will continue to hold these roles as CMO of Hy-Vee.

Fick, who has been a physician for more than 30 years, will lead Hy-Vee teams on their work for the company’s health and wellness programs, working alongside customers, employers, benefits providers and health care professionals.

“Coming to Hy-Vee is coming home, in a way,” said Fick. “I worked for Hy-Vee as a student, and I have wanted to return to Hy-Vee as a physician for a number of years. The timing is finally right for me to join the team and I’m excited to be taking on this position that is a unique fit for my experience and abilities. I am very much looking forward to helping grow Hy-Vee’s health and medical initiatives in the coming years and expanding the company’s service offerings.”

The news comes at the same time Dollar General announced its own push into the health care space. The discount retailer appointed Albert Wu, MD, who previously worked at McKinsey & Company since 2016 and also sered an anesthesiology resident, as vice president and chief medical officer. The company also announced it would introduce more health care-related products and leverage Wu to work with current and prospective healthcare product and service providers to build a comprehensive network of affordable services for customers.

See the full story at Drug Store News.