Earlier this month as the pandemic dragged on, Children’s Health asked Irving-based 7-Eleven to help make life a little easier for its health care workers and patients’ families.

This week, 7-Eleven opened a pop-up store in Children’s Medical Center Dallas’ Moore Auditorium, a large space that had been mothballed in this time of social distancing.

7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto said the hospital asked the retailer to come up with a way for its staff to have “convenient access to essentials during this unprecedented time.”

“Our team rose to the challenge, opening this first-of-its-kind store in less than two weeks,” DePinto said. “We are so proud to serve those on the front line of this pandemic.”

The store helps health care workers pick up items on their way home and helps patients’ families save time and a trip to the store.

Children's Medical Center Dallas asked Irving-based 7-Eleven to set up a convenience store inside its Moore Auditorium to make shopping easier for medical staff, patients and visitors. (Children's Health)

Acknowledging the importance of safe shopping, the pop-up store allows hospital staff to use their employee badges for contactless payment. The store also has a regular credit/debit checkout and an acrylic sneeze guard that most retailers have installed in recent weeks. 7-Eleven’s mobile checkout app is coming to the pop-up, the retailer said.

“Our health care team members are on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19 every day taking care of the children in our community while their own families are home from school, work and their daily routines,” said Chris Durovich, CEO of Children’s Health. “Our work with 7-Eleven allows us to provide more comfort and convenience to those within our facilities by making everyday essential items easy to locate, purchase and take home.”

The store sells groceries including milk, bread and eggs, paper towels, toilet paper and laundry detergent. Other items on the temporary shelves include phone chargers, prepared salads and entrees including pizza and wings to take home and heat.

Staff at two other Children’s Health locations, Children’s Medical Center Plano and Our Children’s House in Dallas, can use the 7NOW delivery app to make purchases and get free delivery.

The point of pairing up with 7-Eleven is to ease life’s new challenges for health care workers and “in-patient families to access items while in our care,” said Keri Kaiser, senior vice president at Children’s Health. Children’s Health employees are running the operation.

There’s no Slurpee machine, but most self-serve machines at 7-Eleven and other stores have been shut down during the pandemic anyway, along with salad bars and in-store sampling.

7-Eleven has been experimenting in recent years with where it puts stores. It has opened in DFW International Airport, Globe Life Park in Arlington and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias

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