Sephora Americas has announced the launch of Values Inside Out, a partnership program matching Sephora stores across America with nonprofit organizations in their own communities.

All over the United States and Canada, retail pharmacy innovators keep stepping up to fill in more of the gaps that separate people from quality, proactive resources for health, wellness and preventive care.

One of the latest examples is Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway. In a new and groundbreaking alliance with the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy, the 1,641-store supermarket and pharmacy megachain has kicked off a long-term campaign to help its customers quit smoking. As reported by Drug Store News’ Alaric DeArment, Safeway pharmacists will deliver the program, which was developed by UCSF pharmacy school faculty, after being schooled in smoking-cessation counseling techniques.

A smoking cessation program developed by the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy will be deployed through Safeway pharmacies, the university announced. As part of the program, Safeway pharmacists will receive special training in counseling techniques.

It's one of the first partnerships of its kind and another example of how community pharmacy will be stepping into a more preventive healthcare role. You can expect to see more types of these smoking cessation programs along with other proactive health interventions tackling weight loss and encouraging healthier behaviors.

Alternate site pharmacies, including those serving long-term care and correctional care facilities, are realizing significant cost savings and greater efficiencies as a result of an innovative partnership forged by McKesson and Safecor Health.

Three-in-four women today are motivated to be healthy, and most (82%) believe they will suffer negative consequences if they don't pursue that healthier lifestyle, according to a white paper released by Anthem Worldwide on Tuesday titled, “What Women Really Want From Health And Wellness.”

CVS Caremark and the United Food & Commercial Workers have announced that they have signed a cooperation agreement giving CVS/pharmacy employees at approximately 500 stores in the metropolitan Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego areas the opportunity to vote on whether or not they want to be represented by the union.

Pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp. hopes to expand business with client Cigna Corp. and foresees other opportunities, according to published reports.

Skin care brand Own — which recently launched in Duane Reade stores in New York City, followed by Whole Foods Market in the Northern California region — has developed an app that brings the power to measure and track the aging process to users’ fingertips.

DSN profiled six companies that sell on their American-made heritage as part of its "Made in America" report.

As part of McKesson’s 14th annual Community Days, the company’s all-employee volunteer week, an estimated 16,000 McKesson employees from more than 150 sites across the country will come together to create 25,000 Comfort Kits for the McKesson Foundation’s new charity initiative, Giving Comfort, the wholesaler announced Monday.

McKesson and PSS World Medical on Thursday announced that the two companies have signed a definitive agreement under which McKesson will acquire all outstanding shares of PSS World Medical for $29 per share in cash in a deal valued at $2.1 billion.

Target has announced plans to open its second CityTarget store in San Francisco in October 2013.