ORLANDO, Fla. – Today, Governor Scott announced that CVS Health, a pharmacy innovation company, is increasing its presence in the Orlando region and creating 500 new jobs over the next two years. CVS Health will open a 112,000 square foot facility in early 2016 in Orange County, and will hire pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and administrative staff.

Governor Scott said, “We are excited to announce the creation of 500 new jobs for families in Orlando. With hundreds of locations already in Florida, CVS’ decision to expand in our state is great news. We will continue our work to cut $1 billion in taxes and support businesses through the creation of the Florida Enterprise Fund so more successful companies like CVS can create opportunities for our families.” 
 

The new facility will support the company’s existing specialty pharmacies by providing customers with disease education; pharmacy and medication counseling; benefits verification; medication dispensing; and coordination of care with multiple healthcare providers.

“At CVS Health, we are pleased to expand our footprint in Florida and bring new jobs to this community,” said Alan M. Lotvin, M.D., executive vice president CVS/specialty and CVS Health. “As our specialty pharmacy business continues to expand, we are growing our operations to support the increasing number of patients on complex drug therapies.”

CVS Health serves millions of people throughout the U.S. with more than 7,900 retail pharmacies, 1,000 walk-in medical clinics, a pharmacy benefits manager with more than 70 million plan members and a senior pharmacy business that serves more than one million patients each year. The new specialty pharmacy facility grows the presence of CVS Health in the Orlando area, which is already home to a CVS Health distribution center and existing specialty pharmacy operations.

Bill Johnson, President and CEO of Enterprise Florida, said, “CVS’ decision to create 500 new jobs in Orlando is not just great news for Central Florida, but our entire state. Globally recognized companies like CVS only pick the best places for business to expand, and so their decision shows that we are continuing to invest in our economy and diversify for the future.”

Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, said, “CVS Health’s expansion is another big win for the Orlando economy. Floridians are back to work because of a growing economy supported by sound economic policy. We need to keep lowering taxes and making it easy to do business in the Sunshine State.”

The project was made possible through partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, The Orlando Economic Development Commission, and the Orange County.

“CVS Health is a company focused on healthcare innovation and we are happy to see their specialty pharmacy, as a part of our larger life sciences and healthcare industry, grow in the region by expanding its presence in Orlando,” said Rick Weddle, president and CEO of the Orlando EDC.




“We are thrilled to welcome CVS Health to Orange County,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. “Their addition of 500 jobs is a solid step forward in expanding the number of health care services in Orlando, which is of vital importance to diversifying our economy and to building a strong bio and life sciences cluster. Equally important, all of these jobs – including 350 pharmacy technician positions – are of a professional nature, and will give our citizens the chance to pursue a professional skill and career path.”

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Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth for Florida businesses through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses.
 

The Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC) is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership on a mission to aggressively attract, retain and grow jobs for the Orlando region while advocating, championing, and educating in support of efforts to improve competitive position. The EDC serves Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties and the City of Orlando – a region of about 4,000 square miles and 2.2. million people. Since its start in 1977, the EDC, with the support of its community partners, has assisted thousands of companies locate and expand in the four-county Orlando region. For more information, visit www.OrlandoEDC.com.

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