Dive Brief:

• Hy-Vee has named Dr. Daniel Fick as its first chief medical officer, according to a company release.
• Fick, who also serves as a clinical professor at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, will help oversee Hy-Vee’s health initiatives along with the development of new products and services.
• Hy-Vee joins other retailers that have recently named medical professionals to health and wellness leadership roles as the pandemic has sharpened consumers’ focus on health.

Dive Insight:

Hy-Vee has long made health and nutrition a core part of its corporate identity, offering consultations, special store tours and personalized diet plans in collaboration with its pharmacies and company dietitians. 

Now, the grocer is adding a leadership role to help hone its existing health and medical programs, and to develop new ones in step with shopper demand.

“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,” Randy Edeker, chairman, CEO and president of Hy-Vee, said in a statement.

While serving as Hy-Vee’s CMO, Fick will continue to hold roles as a clinical professor of family medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and as part of the provider group for the Executive Health Program at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Fick has been a physician for more than 30 years and has managed providers and clinics. In addition, he founded an insurance company and provided oversight in areas like hospital accreditation, risk management and implementing electronic medical records, according to the announcement. He has also overseen employer benefits and the COVID-19 response at the University of Iowa.

Hy-Vee offers a wide assortment of health services, including corporate wellness presentations, nutrition counseling and a smoking-cessation program. It also offers a 10-week-long personalized nutrition program for $300. 

Retailers across the country are adding health roles to their executive teams. Last week, Dollar General named Dr. Albert Wu, formerly with McKinsey & Company, as its chief medical officer. In November, Walmart named Dr. Cheryl Pegus, formerly CMO with Walgreens, as its executive vice president of health and wellness.