CPF Communications

Announcements

The first quarter CPF newsletter published in January 2020 started with traditional optimistic sentiments for the new decade of the 'twenty twenties'. Little did we know of the upcoming significant 'bump in the road' that would develop to pandemic proportions. Moving into 2021 with scientific and medical advances, we are hopeful for relief and return towards normalcy. 

CPF contributed to a consumer piece by supporting an independent supplement by Mediaplanet to USA Today on December 22, 2020. The campaign is called 'Vaccine Awareness' and the lead article is 'Pharmacists, the Unsung Heroes of the Pandemic' by Doug Hoey, RPh, MBA, CEO National Community Pharmacists Association and Scott Knoer, MS, PharmD, Executive Vice President, American Pharmacists Association. Pharmacy teams are indeed essential healthcare providers of the COVID-19 vaccine! We know there is much more to come across the healthcare spectrum for health and wellness in 2021 and beyond. 


Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA)

CPF and PQA are awarding the 4th Annual 'Community Pharmacy Innovation in Quality (CPIQ)' Awards to recognize a high performing and pioneering individual practitioner and an innovative community pharmacy practice that demonstrates improvements in quality of care, medication optimization and patient outcomes.

We are pleased to invite nominations for the 2021 CPIQ Awards. Individuals may nominate themselves, their organizations or others through the online nomination form now through Monday, February 1, 2021 via the nomination information and nomination form links.

Learn more about past CPIQ Award Recipients:

Individual Award
2020: Vikram Sundararaman, PharmD, MBA, Clinical Pharmacy Site Manager, Genoa Healthcare
2019: Lindsey Valenzuela, PharmD, Administrator of Population Health and Prescription Management, Desert Oasis Healthcare 
2018: Kari Trapskin, PharmD, Vice President, Health Care Quality Initiatives, Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin

Pharmacy Award
2020: The Kroger Company
2019: Towncrest Pharmacy of Iowa
2018: Charitable Pharmacy of Central Ohio

The awards are supported by funding from the Community Pharmacy Foundation and presented at the PQA Annual Meeting.

Flip the Pharmacy (FtP)

• FtP Newsletters -- January 2021 | All Newsletters | COVID-19 Best Practices Website
  • In his ‘Our Time Has Come’ January 2021 newsletter remarks, Randy McDonough reflects on his personal opportunity and experience for pharmacist-administered COVID-19 vaccinations during Phase 1A. 
     
  • Reflections from McDonough as written in the newsletter:
    
    • READY... early communication with the Johnson, Iowa county’s emergency management agency (EMA) to educate about pharmacists' capability and availability.
    • SET... we had worked hard to ensure that we had policies and procedures in place so that we had a very systematic and efficient process.
    • GO... During our remote clinic programs, we gave vaccines to other health care team members ranging from physicians to medical assistants. During our time at the clinics, we were not looked at as a pharmacy or a drug product but rather has a health care professional, an embraced team member, who was providing an essential service.
    
    I felt that the clinic health care professionals were not only accepting of our role as a vaccinator, but that we were part of the health care team—something that has not always been apparent for community pharmacists. As I headed back to the pharmacy, a pleasant thought came to me—Perhaps our time has come!
     
• FtP Pharmacy Stories
  • Norland Avenue Pharmacy Embraces Change | (Drug Topics - 12/23/2020)
  • Flip the Pharmacy program enters its 2nd year | (Pharmacy Today - 12/1/2020)

ACT Pharmacy Collaborative

The Academia-CPESN Transformation (ACT) Pharmacy Collaborative is an operational learning and ACTing collaborative between 89 colleges/schools of pharmacy and clinically integrated networks of community-based pharmacies.

The 2020 Remote AACP/ACT Workshop this past November was a huge success! 

• Provided an opportunity for faculty members and community leaders nationwide to collectively mobilize academia’s role in community pharmacy practice transformation.
• Over 70 schools in attendance with over 150 attendees during the 2-day workshop
• Over 60 CEO Deans and 110 Experiential Learning Directors during dedicated sessions
• Impactful connections and collaboration for future initiatives

Quote from Troy Trygstad, Executive Director of CPESN USA
"I've never seen so much positive energy from faculty and administrators in my life. It's as if there were all of this pent-up energy around supporting next generation community pharmacy practice and everyone just needed to give themselves permission to say it and do it. Certainly, one of the key ingredients is the cross pollination of ideas, but also comradery and support among others across institutions. For many, the experience of being the sole or small group tagged as being the "community pharmacy person(s)" has heretofore been a lonely experience in academia. Add to that a real-world laboratory of services, data and emerging value based contracting markets [that are emerging in the market], … I am very [excited about] ACT's future and ability to bend community pharmacy practice toward sustainability"
 
Upcoming Strategies for 2021:

• Curriculum Task Force
• ACT Master Class
• Research Initiatives with Flip the Pharmacy and CPESN Data
• Experiential Learning Charge

The ACT Pharmacy Collaborative has been invited to work with the Pharmacy Times to share efforts of faculty and students in community pharmacy practice transformation. Key goal of MOBILIZATION for community pharmacy initiatives this year! 

If your college or school is not part of the 89 members, please consider formally joining by submitting a Dean's Statement of Commitment.
 

Grantee Updates

Recently Awarded Grants
 

	Facebook CPESN NYC luminary Roger Paganelli, co-owner of Mt. Carmel Pharmacy in the Bronx, was featured in a Spectrum NY1 television news story.
	Twitter In Northwest Arkansas, pharmacists are working around the clock to vaccinate as many healthcare workers as possible.

Upcoming Deadlines and Events
       CPF/PQA CPIQ Award Deadline – February 1, 2021 – Information       
       CPF Grant Applications Deadline – February 3, 2021 at Midnight Pacific – Submission
       CPF Board Meeting – February 17-18, 2021  
       APhA Annual Meeting 2021 – March 12-15, 2021 (Virtual) – Information 
       CPF Grant Applications Deadline – May 12, 2021 at Midnight Pacific – Submission
       CPF Board Meeting – May 25-27, 2021