CVS Caremark has entered the Omaha, Neb., market with the opening of its first two stores in the city.

The grand openings mark the drug store chain's latest pharmacy market entries. Earlier this year, the first CVS/pharmacy locations opened their doors in St. Louis; Memphis, Tenn.; and Puerto Rico. More stores are planned for all three of those markets this year.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp. has entered the Omaha, Neb., market with the opening of its first two stores in the city.

To mark the market entry, the company said it held a grand opening ceremony on Monday at one of the stores that was attended by CVS/pharmacy officials, Omaha mayor Jim Suttle and city councilman Thomas Mulligan.

"We are pleased to open our first stores in Omaha and provide the community with high quality and convenient pharmacy services at a great value," Dennis Palmer, senior vice president of CVS/pharmacy for the West division, said in a statement. "As we continue to enter new markets such as Omaha, we remain committed to making pharmacy solutions effective and easy for our customers."

CVS reported that additional locations in the Omaha market are planned over the next several years. The company currently has four retail pharmacy locations in Nebraska, according to its web site.

Omaha is the latest market where CVS/pharmacy has expanded its presence this year.

In late January, the drug store chain opened the doors for its first St. Louis locations, which was followed just a few weeks later by the opening of its first pharmacy in Memphis, Tenn., and its first stores in Puerto Rico. More stores are planned for all three of those markets this year.

As part of the grand opening celebration in Omaha, CVS also announced that it signed on as a Silver Sponsor of the ALS Association’s three Walk to Defeat ALS events in Nebraska.

The pharmacy chain said it’s a long-time supporter of the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Earlier this summer, CVS held its ninth annual in-store fundraising campaign across its 7,000 stores to benefit the ALS Therapy Alliance. In its first eight years, the campaign has raised more than $19 million for ALS research.