NACDS Foundation Event Raises Funds for Research and Scholarships

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation raised $1.77 million for scholarships, research, and charitable activities from 114 benefactors at the public health non-profit organization’s 13th Annual Dinner, held earlier this week in New York City.

Funds generated by the dinner support improving patients’ health and quality of life by fostering understanding of prescription medicines, promoting medication adherence, enhancing patient care services at neighborhood pharmacies, and educating future health care professionals.

Among the NACDS Foundation’s work, donations support the new Community Pharmacy Residency Expansion Project to provide grants to colleges and schools of pharmacy for the development of 30 fully-accredited post-graduate residencies. Separately, the NACDS Foundation presents more than $500,000 in scholarships to pharmacy students annually to educate future health care professionals in support of the public good.

“Consumers can benefit by better understanding their medicines, and tomorrow’s pharmacists will play an even greater role in advancing the public health through enhanced innovative services and care,” said NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger in a statement. “The NACDS Foundation helps fulfill those necessities by leading an unparalleled effort to improve the public health through community outreach and fostering educational opportunities for the next generation’s pharmacy leaders.”

At the dinner, CBS Evening News Anchor and Managing Editor Scott Pelley, an Emmy-award winning journalist, provided a keynote address informed by his decades of coverage of war-torn regions and access to the world’s decision makers.

The NACDS Foundation has also partnered with the National Consumers League on its “Script Your Future” medication adherence public education campaign, having contributed the largest single donation to this initiative at more than $1 million. The Script Your Future campaign has emerged as a top priority for US Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, who also spoke at the dinner and reinforced the public health importance of medication adherence.

For more information about the NACDS Foundation’s activities, click here.