WASHINGTON, July 10 /PRNewswire/ — Today Howard University and CVS/pharmacy officially opened Howard University’s newly upgraded Pharmacy Practice Laboratory, where pharmacy students may sharpen their skills in a practice setting, learning how to dispense medication, counsel patients and utilize state-of-the-art technology found in many pharmacies. CVS/pharmacy donated $300,000 to the renovation of the laboratory, building upon the Company’s strong partnership with the school to provide enhanced educational and career opportunities.
“We are pleased that CVS/pharmacy has contributed to the renovation of our laboratory, so that we may continue to attract talented students and better train them for their pharmacy careers,” said Clarence E. Curry, Pharm.D., Interim Associate Dean at Howard University’s School of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Health Sciences. “As the demand for pharmacists increases nationwide, due to an aging population and increased use of prescription drugs, Howard University is experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of applicants to our pharmacy school. Partnerships such as with CVS/pharmacy have helped us become more competitive.”
“CVS/pharmacy is committed to building an outstanding workforce through win-win partnerships such as with Howard University, and through the hiring, training, development and retention of quality colleagues,” said Gordon Howard, Area Vice President-Washington D.C. Market, CVS/pharmacy. “We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Howard University, a school with many outstanding alums who are now talented pharmacists at our CVS/pharmacy stores in Washington, D.C. and beyond.”
The Pharmacy Practice Laboratory houses 24 state-of-the-art workstations that allow students to gain experience in entering and assessing patient-related information, such as health, allergy and medication history. The workstations also provide access to other technical support needed to ensure appropriate delivery of medications, patient counseling and medication therapy management. The laboratory is also stocked with prescription and over-the-counter medications, alternative medications, and home-testing devices so that students may practice dispensing and advising on medication and home tests.
CVS/pharmacy has partnered with Howard University in a number of ways beyond the laboratory. For example, CVS pharmacists guest lecture at the school’s pharmacy management class, judge the annual Patient Counseling competition and mentor Howard University pharmacy school interns at CVS/pharmacy stores. Partly as a result of the strong relationship, more than 35 percent of Howard University pharmacy graduates began careers at CVS/pharmacy stores this year. The Company has similar partnerships with other schools nationwide.
Howard University has received an increased demand for its 70 freshmen class seats in the Doctor of Pharmacy program, growing from 300 applicants annually 10 years ago to 1,300 applicants today. A main driver for this growth is the booming job market. While many new college graduates in other fields may struggle to find jobs, pharmacist graduates generally receive numerous job offers with highly competitive salaries.
Nnenna Okeke, 26, graduated from Howard University’s college of pharmacy in May with a doctorate in Pharmacy, and after receiving multiple job offers for pharmacy positions, she decided to work at a CVS/pharmacy store in downtown Washington, D.C.
“Both Howard University and a summer internship at CVS/pharmacy prepared me well for a career as a pharmacist,” said Okeke. “I chose to work at CVS because of the value they place on patient care and employee development, because of their community involvement — such as offering disease state management clinics and their active participation in health expositions, and also because of their unique integrated health services model resulting from their merger with Caremark. Current and future Howard students are in for a treat with the new laboratory and will be even better prepared for their careers.”
About Howard University
Howard University is one of 48 U.S. private, Doctoral/Research-Extensive universities and comprises 12 schools and colleges. Founded in 1867, students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. Since 1998, the University has produced two Rhodes Scholars, a Truman Scholar, 19 Fulbright Scholars and 10 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D.s than any other university in the world. For more information about Howard University, call 202-238-2330, or visit the University’s Web site at http://www.howard.edu/.
About CVS/pharmacy
CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation , is America’s largest retail pharmacy with more than 6,300 retail locations. CVS/pharmacy is committed to improving the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access, both in its stores and online at CVS.com. General information about CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark is available at http://www.cvs.com/pressroom, as well as http://investor.cvs.com/.
Contact: Ronald Harris Howard University (202) 238-2331 [email protected] Sara Steindorf for CVS/pharmacy (617) 520-7259 [email protected]
CVS/pharmacy
CONTACT: Ronald Harris of Howard University, +1-202-238-2331,[email protected]; or Sara Steindorf for CVS-pharmacy, +1-617-520-7259,[email protected]
Web site: http://www.cvs.com/http://www.howard.edu/http://investor.cvs.com/http://www.cvs.com/pressroom
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