Deerfield, Ill. As part of its ongoing efforts to become a national player on the home health care scene, Walgreens Advance Care has purchased Compass Healthcare's compression therapy business in Chicago.

Officials, who did not disclose the terms of the deal, said the acquisition will strengthen the market position of Walgreens Home Medical Centers. Its current four Chicago-area locations carry ready-to-wear support socks and provide custom fitting.

"Our goal is to become a nationally recognized provider of home care services," said Ron Allen, Walgreens Advance Care vice president. "Through strategic acquisitions and internal development, we are continuing to achieve growth in our target markets."

This latest acquisition, announced Sept. 22, came on the heels of the company's purchase earlier in September of the Arizona health care operations of Integrated HealthCare Services. IHS provided infusion and respiratory services throughout the state. According to Allen, that acquisition was "consistent with our business strategy for providing regional home care."

In addition to Illinois and Arizona, the company has home health operations in Indiana, Wisconsin and New Mexico. "We've made a few acquisitions in the past," said Allen, "but now we are embarking on a very aggressive acquisitions program. We are stepping up our home care efforts because the business is a good fit with the company's overall strategy of community-based health care." The expansion is also "a great opportunity to capitalize on a profitable business with a strong market share," he noted.

In other news, Walgreens acquired the assets of Certifax Pharmacy Services, a mail-service pharmacy based in Beaverton, Ore. Walgreens, which provides pharmacy services and home care products, said the acquisition is expected to benefit all areas of the business, including home care. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Parent company Walgreen Co. operates 2,821 drugstores in 39 states and Puerto Rico, and plans to have 6,000 stores by 2010. Its fiscal 1999 sales are estimated at $17.8 billion.-S.H.