WOONSOCKET – CVS Caremark Corp. plans to move its MinuteClinic division’s headquarters from Minneapolis to Rhode Island next year, three years after purchasing the Minnesota-based walk-in health provider.

The move will eliminate 150 jobs in Minneapolis, which has been MinuteClinic’s home base since it was founded in 2000 as QuickMedx, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. CVS bought MinuteClinic Inc., which runs in-store kiosks staffed with nurse practitioners to offer quick medical care, in 2006.

CVS spokeswoman Carolyn Castel told the newspaper that the Minneapolis MinuteClinic layoffs will begin in January, with most taking place in the second and third quarters of next year. Employees who lose their positions can apply for other jobs at CVS, she said.

It was unclear Wednesday if the job reductions in Minneapolis mean CVS will add new jobs in Woonsocket. A spokeswoman for CVS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Castel told the Star Tribune that moving MinuteClinic’s operations to the pharmacy giant’s corporate campus in Woonsocket “supports our goal of tighter integration of MinuteClinic with CVS Caremark.” She also said it would “foster better alignment with CVS Caremark’s chronic care, patient engagement and disease management initiatives.”

CVS said it had opened 561 MinuteClinic kiosks in 25 states as of June 30, all but 15 of them located inside CVS/pharmacy stores.

There are currently 18 MinuteClinics in Massachusetts and none in Rhode Island, according to the company’s Web site.

Additional information is available at minuteclinic.com.