NACDS Foundation announces pharmacy residency grant recipients

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation has announced the first 3 beneficiaries of the Community Pharmacy Residency Expansion Project (Community PREP), a $1.5 million grant program designed to expand community pharmacy residency programs for recent graduates.

Over the next 3 years, grant recipients will receive $50,000 from the NACDS Foundation to support the development of residency positions for graduates of accredited schools and colleges of pharmacy.

The first round of awards has gone to the following academic institutions:

• Purdue University, with practice sites at The Kroger Co.

• University of Missouri – Kansas City, with practice sites at Red Cross Pharmacy, Inc.

• University of North Carolina, with practices sites at Kerr Drug, Inc.

The goal of Community PREP is to create 30 new community pharmacy residency opportunities, each fully accredited, for year 1 postgraduates, through grants to nonprofit pharmacy schools and colleges.
“The Community PREP grant program was developed to provide expanded opportunities for pharmacy school graduates to pursue community pharmacy residencies and hone their skills in providing patient care services,” said Edith A. Rosato, RPh, IOM, NACDS Foundation president. “I commend these 3 prestigious recipients for their dedication to patient care and their laudable commitment to mentoring the next generation of pharmacy graduates.”

Grant recipients are determined through recommendations of an independent review committee composed of representatives from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American Pharmacists Association, and the NACDS Foundation.

Community PREP grant applications are accepted on a continuing basis, with a deadline of July 1, 2011. Twelve additional grants will be awarded in 2011 and 15 more will be awarded in 2012.