NACDS Foundation Program Awards More than $200,000 for Patient Care Research Projects

PRESS RELEASE

Palm Beach, Fla. — Recognizing the impact of community-based research in helping to improve patient care, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation announced $210,000 in scholarships and grants through its 2015 Pharmacy Partners Program. The recipients were presented with their awards tonight at an event during the NACDS Annual Meeting.

This year’s program awardees were selected from high-quality applications from deans of colleges and schools of pharmacy across the country. Grants were awarded to six applicants in the amount of $20,000 each.

The six winners for the 2015 NACDS Foundation Pharmacy Partners Program are:

• Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences will evaluate the flow of patient information across the care continuum from the hospital to the community pharmacy.
• Husson University School of Pharmacy will examine the impact of pharmacy services on first-fill adherence and other patient-centered outcomes.
• Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences — Worchester will enhance its coursework on Clinical Laboratory and Physical Assessment by integrating a diabetes care certificate education program into the curriculum.
• Roosevelt University College of Pharmacy will work with a community pharmacy to educate both students and pharmacists on medication therapy management (MTM), and place students in advanced practice pharmacy experiences on MTM.
• The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy will create a program of 24 student-led patient care and clinical service projects in community settings over a three-year time period.
• University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy will launch an initiative to develop collaborative practice agreements for community pharmacies; conduct research on access disparities in urban areas; evaluate health information exchanges; and incorporate advanced MTM education into the curriculum.

In addition, the NACDS Foundation will also award $2,000 in scholarships to 46 additional colleges and schools of pharmacy.

The NACDS Foundation Pharmacy Partners Program is designed to fund prospective projects that hold promise to meaningfully improve patient care. Colleges and schools of pharmacy were asked to submit applications for projects that may include community pharmacy residencies or shared faculty positions, community-based research projects and patient-centered coursework or other innovative curriculum.

“We cannot thank the benefactors enough for their support of the NACDS Foundation Pharmacy Partners Scholarship Program,” said NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger. “Their generous contributions for this year’s scholarships further illustrate the unwavering commitment by retail pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry to advancing patient care and pharmacy education by supporting the next generation of leaders in community pharmacy.”

The NACDS Foundation Pharmacy Partners Program began in 1997, and since that time has provided more than $3.5 million in scholarships for pharmacy students thanks to the generous support of the program’s benefactors.