Scottsdale, Ariz. – Acknowledging the vital role pharmacy education plays in improving patient care, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation announced $230,000 in scholarships and grants through its 2017 NACDS Foundation Scholarship Program. The recipients were presented with their awards tonight at an NACDS Foundation event during the NACDS Annual Meeting.

This year’s awardees were selected from more than 40 general and diversity scholarship applications submitted from deans of accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy across the country. Six grants were awarded to applicants for innovative education programs in the amount of $20,000 each, including two in the name of industry leaders: The Wayne Roberts Memorial Scholarship, provided by Apotex Corporation, and the Robert J. Bolger Scholarship, provided by Teva. Additionally, two one-time grants in the amount of $15,000 each were awarded for excellence in diversity programs.

The awardees of the 2017 NACDS Foundation Scholarships for excellence in education are:

  1. Duquesne University, Mylan School of Pharmacy will launch a study in an underserved area of Pittsburgh by providing patients with complimentary Hepatitis C virus screenings and education through a university-run outpatient facility.
  2. Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy will provide its pharmacy students with cutting-edge, practice-based experience through the college’s new “Adherence, Transitions of Care and Medication Therapy Management Center,” opened in 2016.
  3. Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy will launch a two-year program which aims to screen 1,000 underserved patients in rural Ohio for Hepatitis C using a college-facilitated mobile health clinic.
  4. Ohio State University College of Pharmacy students will give refugees and new immigrants an understanding of the U.S. pharmacy/healthcare system by providing them with an introductory course on pharmacy services.
  5. Union University School of Pharmacy will launch a study evaluating educational intervention techniques in diabetes care for African American patients at risk for diabetes-related health issues in West Tennessee.
  6. University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will expand its program which requires each of its students to travel and live for six weeks in a rural pharmacy location working with inter-professional healthcare teams.

Awardees of the 2017 NACDS Foundation Scholarships for excellence in diversity programs:

  1. The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy will work with partner institutions, including two historically black colleges, to select 15 students to attend a one week program designed to expose them to pharmacy school and the profession.
  2. University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy will select 15 racially and ethnically diverse students who have the passion and aptitude for healthcare for a three-week long “Pharmacy Readiness Bootcamp” designed to maximize their likelihood of academic success in the PharmD curriculum.

The NACDS Foundation also awarded $2,000 scholarships to each of the colleges and schools of pharmacy whose deans were in attendance at the event.

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

“We are extremely grateful for the support of our benefactors. Their generosity and engagement are what make the NACDS Foundation Scholarship Program possible,” said NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger. “The ongoing commitment of our benefactors to advance public health by supporting innovative educational programs in patient care is exemplary. Their contributions are what will fuel and inspire the next generation of leaders in community pharmacy.”

The NACDS Foundation Scholarship Program began in 1997. Since then, nearly $4 million in scholarships has been provided for pharmacy education thanks to the generous support of the program’s benefactors.