WOONSOCKET, R.I — Marshall, Mo.-based Red Cross Pharmacy Inc. plans to sell its retail pharmacies to CVS Pharmacy, both companies announced last month.

Red Cross Pharmacy is a top-50 drug store chain and one of the oldest pharmacy businesses in the country. The acquisition of the 14 Red Cross pharmacies will be effective June 6.

Red Cross, which primarily services markets in northwest central Missouri, has two retail locations in Marshall, and one each in Salisbury, Kearney, Excelsior Springs, Odessa, Warrensburg, Grain Valley, Macon, Fulton, Lexington, Plattsburg, Richmond and Carrollton.

CVS Pharmacy says it plans to operate in the same locations with the same staff in all markets except for Grain Valley and Kearney, where the files will be transferred to the closest CVS Pharmacy store.

CVS Pharmacy’s acquisition of Red Cross Pharmacy locations is expected to be completed by mid-July, and the pharmacies will be converted and rebranded as CVS Pharmacy, according to CVS. Both companies said they are working closely together to ensure the transition will be seamless for customers and their access to pharmacy care is not interrupted. CVS Pharmacy also said it expects to retain nearly all of the 170 retail pharmacy employees.

“All along, our mission has been to be the best employee-minded, patient-focused pharmacy service-driven pharmacy organization. While I believe we have done a great job in accomplishing this, it has become increasingly difficult to provide quality pharmacy care under the current payment model. It is time to pass our retail business to a company with more resources that can take it to the next level of care,” said Scott Hartwig, president and chief executive officer of Red Cross Pharmacy. “While change is always difficult, our retail employees will benefit from maintaining their jobs and having a competitive benefits package. Customers and patients will benefit from having a wider range of products and services available and continued pharmacy care from familiar faces. It should be a win-win for both.”

CVS Pharmacy offers unique clinical pharmacy services, medication adherence programs, automatic refills to help patients take their medications on time and as directed, immunizations, text alerts to inform patients when their prescriptions are ready, and digital tools to help patients manage their prescriptions.

“CVS Pharmacy looks forward to bringing its innovative pharmacy care programs and services to Red Cross Pharmacy patients in Missouri,” said Wayne Lum, region director for CVS Pharmacy. “We will continue to provide excellent care to patients and look forward to introducing our industry-leading offerings at these new locations.”