Pharmacy School Program Receives National Award for Community Service

The UMKC School of Pharmacy was recently selected to receive the “Student Community Engaged Service Award” by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). UMKC was one of only four pharmacy schools in the nation to receive this inaugural award recognizing student-led community engagement projects. Sponsored by Teva Pharmaceuticals, this annual award program is intended to encourage pharmacy students and faculty to design and build programs of community-engaged service learning, deliver consumer education about medication use, expand access to affordable medications and improve the public’s health.

The School of Pharmacy program selected for this honor is the “Patient Assistance Program” (PAP) operating out of the Jackson County Free Health Clinic in Independence, MO. The program has been in operation for over eight years and serves a diverse indigent patient population representing over 20 zip codes in the Kansas City metro area. The program provides assistance to low income patients who would otherwise go without needed medications to manage their chronic illnesses. Volunteer students at the clinic are responsible for obtaining the patient’s medical history and helping them to complete the proper paperwork for medication assistance. Since the program’s inception, over 350 patients have received more than $2,000,000 worth of medication donated by pharmaceutical suppliers (as of December 2007). Student pharmacist volunteers train junior pharmacy students how to interact with patients, interpret medical records, make therapeutic substitutions, practice troubleshooting skills, and integrate with other health professionals.

UMKC School of Pharmacy faculty advisor, Cameron Lindsey, Pharm.D., and pharmacy student/team leader Kristen Fish (Class of 2010) joined Dean Robert Piepho on February 23rd at the AACP Interim Meeting in Arlington, VA for the awards presentation. Other student members of the project included Michelle Campbell, Kara Miller, Danielle Nagel and Cassie Peters. AACP presented a check to UMKC for $10,000 to be used for expansion of the project and an additional stipend of $5,000 for student program and travel support.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) is a national organization whose mission is to serve the 105 pharmacy schools in the United States and their faculties by acting as their advocate on a national level.

-Written by Jana Boschert, Director of Alumni & Development, UMKC School of Pharmacy

In picture: Kristin Fish, Pharmacy Student (left) and Dr. Cameron Lindsey (right)