LOS ANGELES — Rite Aid Corp. continues to stretch its horizons, showcasing innovation at its latest wellness store and expanding its collaborative care program.

Rite Aid Corp. continues to stretch its horizons, showcasing innovation at its latest wellness store and expanding its collaborative care program.

Heritage Provider Network (HPN), one of California’s largest health care networks, is the latest partner in the Rite Aid Health Alliance. Through the alliance the network and drug chain will offer coordinated, comprehensive care and support to patients with chronic and poly-chronic conditions. Plans call for 30 Rite Aid pharmacies and eight HPN affiliates across Southern California, as well as HPN’s accountable care organization, to take part in a pilot.

"Our teams must continue to actively engage with patients and empower them to take greater control of their health," Rite Aid president and chief operating officer Ken Martindale said last month at a participating store in Woodland Hills, Calif. "We’re really excited about this initiative and its promise to help us play a more active role in the health and well-being of our ­patients."

A day earlier, in Beverly Hills, the retailer unveiled an extensively remodeled store with pioneering front-end merchandising. At the front of the store is a café and patio area offering fresh baked goods, sandwiches and the chain’s Thrifty ice cream. There’s also a spacious wine, spirits and beer department, including premium wine and a beer display from which customers can assemble their own six-pack.

A redesigned beauty department is adorned with contemporary signage and graphics, and features nail and lash bars, new prestige cosmetics and skin care lines, demo stations, and specially trained beauty advisers.