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MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A Minneapolis CVS employee is offering free prostate exams to women between the ages of 18 and 35, citing what he calls a “staggering awareness gap” in preventive healthcare among the demographic.
Craig Muttner, 19, a pharmacy technician at the CVS on West Lake Street, has been offering the examinations to female customers since March, operating out of what he described as “basically a consultation area” adjacent to the nasal spray display in aisle thirteen. He has a clipboard.
“Ninety-nine percent of women never get one,” Muttner said in an interview conducted in the parking lot after store management asked him to wait outside. “Women under thirty-five are particularly negligent—it’s never too early in my book.”
He wouldn’t let us see his book.
Muttner said the crisis is twofold: a lack of awareness, and what he describes as a systemic failure of the medical establishment to serve young women. “Most doctors don’t even offer this to women period,” he said. “I’m not sure why. But I have my theories.”
He declined to share his theories.
Muttner said he first became aware of the crisis after reading “some of an article” about prostate cancer on his phone during his break. He has since printed and laminated a chart, which he describes as “medical-grade,” and which depicts the male urinary tract with several features circled in red marker and labeled in handwriting that shifts between print and cursive mid-word.
He is available by appointment or walk-in.
The examinations, which Muttner allegedly performs wearing a single latex glove sourced from the store’s first aid aisle, appear to be part of CVS’s broader initiative to offload an increasing share of American healthcare to its teenage employees. A CVS district manager, reached by phone, said the company “takes the health and safety of its customers very seriously” and would be “looking into the matter.”
Muttner charges nothing for the procedure, which he calls a “comprehensive five-finger exam” and offers as part of what he describes as his “general wellness practice.” He said he has seen seventeen patients, three of whom he scheduled follow-up appointments for in his basement, citing “more invasive procedures.”
Muttner, a criminal justice major at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, has a Yelp page. Its sole review is written by “Craigthekeg07,” which gives the practice five stars and describes the experience as “very thorough, would recommend Craig’s selfless touch to any woman in the area.”
Minneapolis Police confirmed they are aware of Muttner and described the situation as “ongoing.” Muttner confirmed he is aware of Minneapolis Police and described them as “threatened by innovation.”
The CVS on West Lake Street closes at nine.
