QuikTrip, the popular Tulsa-based convenience store chain, is making a significant move into the healthcare sector with its new venture, Medwise Urgent Care. Backed entirely by the QuikTrip Corporation, MedWise Urgent Care is poised to redefine urgent medical services in the region, focusing on customer experience and accessibility.
According to Patrick Aguilar, MedWise Urgent Care’s Chief Medical Officer, the expansion into healthcare is a natural progression for the QuikTrip brand. He highlighted QuikTrip’s established reputation for “fast, friendly customer service in a clean and pleasant environment” as a stark contrast to common healthcare experiences. Aguilar noted that many individuals find healthcare interactions to be neither quick, nor friendly, nor consistently clean, and MedWise Urgent Care aims to change this perception by applying QuikTrip’s successful retail model to the medical field. He clarified that this is not to criticize existing healthcare providers, but rather to emphasize the patient-centered, “retail mindset” that MedWise will adopt.
The first MedWise Urgent Care clinic commenced operations last month in Coweta. The company has ambitious plans to establish a network of 15 clinics across the Tulsa area within the next two years. Aguilar emphasized the strategic advantage of QuikTrip’s understanding of consumer movement and location preferences. “We have an understanding of how people move between businesses, and are very interested in using that understanding to be part of what we offer patients,” Aguilar stated. This expertise in strategic location selection, proven successful for QuikTrip stores, will inform the placement of MedWise Urgent Care clinics, ensuring optimal convenience and accessibility for patients. The goal is to make accessing urgent care as convenient and seamless as visiting a QuikTrip store.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum welcomed MedWise Urgent Care’s investment in the city, recognizing the critical need for accessible healthcare options. In a public statement, Mayor Bynum affirmed that Tulsa’s economic development team is actively collaborating with MedWise to identify suitable locations for their expanding network of clinics. “MedWise and its vision for a network of urgent care clinics is crucial in a time when more people are seeking more convenient and accessible ways to receive care,” Bynum said. He further emphasized the city’s commitment to supporting MedWise in finding locations that serve residents across various Tulsa zip codes, highlighting QuikTrip’s ongoing dedication and investment in the Tulsa community.
Currently, MedWise Urgent Care is operating as a standalone entity, with no immediate plans to integrate or “co-locate” its clinics with existing QuikTrip convenience stores. However, the underlying principle of customer convenience and accessibility remains central to MedWise Urgent Care’s mission as it seeks to deliver a new standard of urgent medical care to the Tulsa community.
