Max-Wellness to launch first in-hospital wellness store at Lake Health

Retail chain Max-Wellness has unveiled plans for its first-ever in-hospital wellness store, which is to be located at a Lake Health hospital in suburban Cleveland.

The retailer’s 600-square-foot store in Lake Health’s West Medical Center in Willoughby, Ohio, is slated to open this summer, according to a statement from Lake Health.

Max-Wellness, which operates four wellness-products stores in the U.S., last month unveiled several new initiatives aimed at reaching customers outside of those stores, with the in-hospital “Mini-Max” locations a key part of that strategy.

The Mini-Max concept is aimed at providing wellness products that patients will need after leaving the hospital. “Working with the hospital staff prior to a patient’s discharge, our wellness advocate will visit the patient [and that patient’s] family members to provide assistance in selecting products for the patient’s continuing care,” CEO Michael Feuer told Drug Store News last month.

Feuer described the first in-hospital location as a “prototype store,” in the statement. “Based on experience gained in this first location at Lake Health, it will be the model for future Mini-Max stores expected to open in hospitals throughout the country,” he said.

Max-Wellness also plans to roll out another of its new initiatives, called “Wellness in a Box,” in the hospitals in which it locates. The Wellness-in-a-Box concept is essentially a vending machine that would feature health and wellness products.

The company envisions introducing the vending machines in urgent care centers, senior living facilities and airports.