Memorable moments worth celebrating in 2023

What a year 2023 has been! I can’t believe all that #TeamCVS accomplished. As I reflect there are countless examples of my colleagues bringing their hearts to every moment, but here are 13 memorable moments worth celebrating: 

1. Recognizing the formal end of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m so thankful and proud of the role CVS Health played in the response to the #COVID19 pandemic over the last three years – administering tens of millions of tests and vaccines in communities across the country. While the public health emergency ended in May, it’s important to note that the virus is here to stay, and our colleagues continue to provide important COVID-19 vaccines to help keep their communities protected.  
2. Celebrating our 60th anniversary. As we celebrated the opening of the very first CVS Pharmacy (in 1963), I was especially excited to honor our longest tenured employee, Pharmacy Technician Mary Jo Nolen, not once but twice this year. This included a celebration at our company town hall and a small party in her store, with her beloved colleagues and friends. 
3. Visiting hundreds of stores, from coast to coast, and everywhere in between. Getting to meet colleagues in stores across the country is easily the best part of every week for me. I learn so much chatting with them and truly understanding their perspectives about life at CVS Pharmacy.  
4. Guest lecturing at three pharmacy colleges, including University of St. Joseph, Nova Southeastern University and my alma mater, University of Florida. I’m always inspired by the next generation of pharmacists and loved getting to know students that will soon enter the field. 
5. Donating one million period products with HEReforHer. With your help and in partnership with Feeding America , we reached our goal during the month of October to help bring an end to period poverty. This was truly a milestone for our company, and I’m so proud to have been a part of it. 
6. Launching our new beauty and personal care brand one+other, with the goal of making self-care more inclusive and accessible for everyone. The brand includes our Universal Tools collection, which was developed with inclusive design in mind and in collaboration with members of the disability community.  
7. Quickly mobilizing our teams in my home state of Florida in the wake of Hurricane Idalia, bolstering support to impacted stores throughout the state and ensuring continuity of care for thousands of Floridians. 
8. Making important investments to create a positive work environment. Based on feedback from our store colleagues, we have added pharmacist and technician hours in many of our stores, with a commitment to achieving more consistent hours. We are also continuing to invest in the technology we use to support the practice of pharmacy, in addition to improving recruitment and enhancing training and hiring processes to make them more efficient and effective. 
9. Celebrating the five-year anniversary of Beauty Mark, our trailblazing commitment to lead industry change around transparency in beauty. To commemorate this milestone, we launched our “Role Model” campaign in May, which powerfully showcased the impact of altered social media imagery on the younger generation. 
10. Partnering with FARE on the Teal Pumpkin Project for the second year to raise awareness of food allergies during the trick-or-treat season. This year we offered an even larger assortment of non-food treats in stores and online to make it easier for children with food allergies and their families to safely celebrate Halloween.  
11. Administering flu vaccines live on The TODAY Show, thanks to our pharmacists Mariya Churbakova and Mohamad Nasr. From Rockefeller Plaza to our more than 9,000 retail locations across the country, millions of patients count on our pharmacy teams as trusted, reliable resources for routine vaccinations. 
12. Launching CVS CostVantage™, our new approach that evolves the traditional pharmacy reimbursement model. It’s an important step toward a more transparent and sustainable model that fairly aligns pharmacy reimbursement to the quality services we provide – and, importantly, it will also enable us to continue to reinvest in our people.  
13. Going viral with our stuffed Snoopy toy, a CVS Pharmacy exclusive that has nearly sold out at our stores nationwide this holiday season. We love to see fun products like this making such an impact in the marketplace and online!  

Most importantly, I’m grateful to have the privilege to work alongside all our #TeamCVS colleagues, as they show up for the everyday moments that matter and perform some incredible acts of heroism. Our long history as a company is truly a testament to their commitment – in stores and behind the scenes – because they bring their hearts to every moment of our patients’ health. 

From my family to yours, #HappyHolidays. I couldn’t be more excited to continue our momentum together in 2024!