Walmart’s mobile pharmacy facility
, nicknamed “Big Blue”, is a resource that the corporation has used during various natural disasters, such as hurricanes, over the last eight years. The facility was custom-made by Mobile Healthcare Facilities to provide high-quality pharmacy care. Multiple hurricanes significantly damaged Walmart locations, including their pharmacies, but with the use of Big Blue in the parking lot, customers continued accessing Walmart Pharmacy care. However, Big Blue has not only been used after natural disasters, but after an unfortunate arson event as well. The mobile pharmacy helped to meet customers’ pharmacy needs as they waited for Walmart to rebuild and reopen.
The Damages
On August 24th, 2022, a 14-year-old girl committed arson at the Walmart location in Peachtree City, Georgia. She lit a fire in the paper products aisle of the store using a cigarette lighter. In juvenile court on October 21st, 2022, the young girl admitted to starting the fire and was charged with first degree arson.
Five fire departments in the nearby counties showed up to extinguish the fire.
“Authorities said the fire was set around 7:20 p.m. August 24th. It took firefighters throughout the night to get the fire under control,” WYMT news reporters Jennifer Lifsey and Debra Worley shared. “It was finally extinguished around 4 a.m. the following day.” The large quantity of water used to extinguish the fire also caused considerable damage.
“Part of the store’s roof collapsed, and thousands of gallons of water were poured through the openings formed by the roof collapse, soaking large areas on the sales floor,” Ben Nelms from The Citizen News reported. After so much time spent extinguishing the fire, nothing in the store was salvageable.
The store manager, Brad Mink, said anything in the store that was not destroyed by fire was destroyed by water, as every sprinkler in the store was activated. It took four months after the fire before the Peachtree City Walmart could partially reopen.
Extensive recovery was necessary for the Walmart location to reopen. WSB-TV News in Atlanta shared in September 2022 that Walmart experienced significant damages from the fire. The store closure had a major impact on the community of shoppers who regularly used that Walmart location.
Big Blue’s Impact
It was originally unclear when the permanent Walmart building would be able to reopen following the fire, according to 11Alive news reporter Jonathan Raymond. Without a backup mobile pharmacy, this would have stopped Walmart Pharmacy customers from visiting the location entirely. Walmart was able to use Big Blue to serve pharmacy customers as they created a plan for how to move forward.
“As the Peachtree City Walmart continues to recover from an arson, ‘Big Blue’ the mobile pharmacy has rolled in to the rescue,” The Fox 5 Atlanta Digital Team announced on September 6, 2022. Big Blue was transported to the Peachtree City location the week after the fire.
Big Blue offered various services during its time in Peachtree City. Both vision and pharmacy care were available, according to Ashley Nolan, senior manager of corporate communications for Walmart Media Relations. Walmart had recognized its customers’ needs and determined the most helpful services to provide customers.
“We can do prescription processing, offer prescription counseling, and also do vaccinations,” Long Vu, the district manager for Walmart Health and Wellness, explained. For customers depending on Walmart’s health services, this mobile facility provided relief and convenience.
Mobile healthcare facilities can enable a healthcare provider to continue providing their typical services even in an emergency situation. In Walmart’s case, an unexpected disaster did not stop them from providing pharmacy services in their parking lot and continuing to support their customers who needed it.
