NCPA Announces 2012 Student Chapter of the Year, Outstanding Student Chapter Members of the Year

San Diego, CA (October 14, 2012) The National Community Pharmacists Association Foundation (NCPAF) today announced the top student chapters and outstanding student chapter members at the NCPA 114th Annual Convention and Trade Exposition. Sponsored by the McKesson Foundation, the 2012 NCPA Student Chapter of the Year is the University of Texas at Austin; the first runner-up is the University of Houston; and the second runner-up is Ohio Northern University.

In addition, the 2012 NCPA Most Improved Chapter winner is Rutgers University, while the University of Colorado won the Health and Wellness Challenge, and Ohio Northern University won the NCPA Legislative Advocacy Challenge. The NCPA Legislative Advocacy Challenge and Health and Wellness Challenge are projects created by the NCPA Student Leadership Council to engage NCPA Student Chapters in legislative and patient outreach activities in their community.

The Legislative Advocacy Challenge gauges the level of legislative advocacy taking place within each NCPA Student Chapter. Chapters must have participated in a major event such as a State Legislative Day, day to day contact with legislators and educational initiatives that promote advocacy.

The Health and Wellness Challenge encourages student chapters to promote the benefits of pharmacist-provided health and wellness services in their community. The project can be achieved through patient education, community outreach programs and through other unique patient outreach services and is graded on creativity and community impact.

Also, 26 pharmacy students were honored as NCPA Outstanding Student Chapter Members of the Year after being nominated by their peers and faculty at each of their respective schools. All of the chapter awards are sponsored by the McKesson Foundation.

"NCPA student chapters provide pharmacy students the tools to become independent community pharmacy owners, who can practice a more patient-friendly business approach than in many other pharmacy settings," said Sharlea Leatherwood, PD, NCPA Foundation President. "We give special recognition to this year's deserving winners: University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston and Ohio Northern University. We want to thank all the NCPA Student Chapters for their commitment."

The award criteria included commitment to community service, recruiting new members, promoting independent community pharmacy and advocating legislative action. The selection process was difficult with so many chapters distinguishing themselves.

The chapters are the most integral part of the NCPA Student Outreach Program that was launched 22 years ago by NCPA Foundation Trustee Emeritus Joe Mosso, who was president of the National Association of Retail Druggists (NARD, which became known as NCPA in 1996). The Foundation underwrites the program, which is designed to increase student awareness of pharmacy ownership and the entrepreneurial opportunities in pharmacy. There are now approximately 3,700 student members and 102 chapters in the 124 U.S. pharmacy schools.

A few of the most effective and popular programs that the chapters encourage members to participate in are the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition, Legislative Advocacy Challenge, Health and Wellness Challenge, NCPA Ownership Workshops and the NCPA Effective Pharmacy Management Course. Setting up mentorships and rotations with independent community pharmacies is also commonplace.

"Within each NCPA Student Chapter is a member who stands out among their peers by the sheer magnitude of their dedication," said Lonny Wilson, DPh, NCPA President and pharmacy owner in Oklahoma City, OK. "That is why we are awarding the NCPA Outstanding Student Chapter Member of the Year to deserving winners who were nominated by their peers, who saw first-hand their dedication on a daily basis."

NCPA Student Chapter Outstanding Member of the Year Awards (alphabetically listed by last name):

The NCPA Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1953 to honor former NARD Executive Secretary John W. Dargavel. Contributions to the NCPA Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted under federal tax law. The Foundation supports the growth and advancement of independent community pharmacy through low-interest educational loans and scholarships to pharmacy students in need, critical research and programs to improve the success of independent pharmacy, community service programs and financial assistance to community pharmacy owners for their recovery in the event of disaster, accidents, illness, or adverse circumstances. To learn more go to www.ncpafoundation.org.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®) represents the interests of America's community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 23,000 independent community pharmacies. Together they represent a $93 billion health care marketplace, dispense nearly 40% of all retail prescriptions, and employ more than 315,000 people, including 62,400 pharmacists. Independent community pharmacists are readily accessible medication experts who can help lower health care spending. They are committed to maximizing the appropriate use of lower-cost generic drugs and reducing the estimated $290 billion that is wasted annually by improper medication use. To learn more go to www.ncpanet.org or read NCPA's blog, The Dose, at http://ncpanet.wordpress.com.