PALM BEACH, Fla. — In his first remarks as chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Randy Edeker said he’s “ready to serve” NACDS chain and associate members at a “crucial, evolutionary time.”

Randy Edeker

Speaking during Tuesday morning’s NACDS Annual Meeting Business Program, Edeker — the chairman, president and chief executive officer of food and drug retailer Hy-Vee Inc. — described 10 perspectives on the state of “ever-evolving health care.” They include ongoing changes related to Medicaid, health care delivery, attitudes and expectations of care, specialty pharmacy, quality measurements, technology and patient-managed health, Millennial trends, cybersecurity, growing collaboration among companies through NACDS, and government and political involvement.

“The evolution of health care is here, with pharmacies as the face of neighborhood health care,” Edeker told Business Program attendees. “The new health care definition includes environmental factors, nutrition, the social environment, emotional and spiritual factors. All of that is now in the health care definition.”

Edeker signaled Hy-Vee’s commitment to using NACDS meetings and conferences — including the 2015 NACDS Total Store Expo, to be held in Denver this August — to work with supplier partners on business planning and on innovative projects. He also noted the importance of the NACDS RxImpact grassroots advocacy program for effective government affairs, as well as the importance of the NACDS Political Action Committee.

In addition, Edeker cited the public-health focus of the NACDS Foundation, including research in the areas of medication adherence and point-of-care testing, and made an announcement to indicate his company’s support of the foundation’s work.

“Today, the executive committee of Hy-Vee has elected to make a one-time gift of $100,000 to the NACDS Foundation,” Edeker said.

Edeker also outlined the rationale for his decision to engage in NACDS, saying that “in a typical week, I spend 40% to 50% of my time dealing with some health, wellness or pharmacy issue.

“I realized I had a great need,” he noted. “It was a strategic decision because this is where I need to be to move my company forward. Here we can have a voice. Here we can have an impact. And I am here to serve.”

Also speaking at Tuesday’s Business Program were Caitlin Pappas, vice president of U.S. consumer sales at Johnson & Johnson, and Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council from 2009-10 and secretary of the U.S. Treasury from 1999-2001, who delivered the keynote address.