Belmont pharmacy students recently assisted the Dispensary of Hope in sorting donated medications at their Nashville distribution center.  The students are members of Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International (CPFI), a worldwide ministry of individuals working in all areas of pharmaceutical service and practice to serve Christ and the world through pharmacy.  Dr. Mark Chirico is faculty advisor for the group.  The student efforts assisted Dispensary of Hope in providing close to $100,000 of prescription medication to uninsured individuals across the United States.

Belmont Pharmacy students recently conducted a health fair in conjunction with the First Annual Matthew Walker Family Fun Walk hosted by the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Healthcare Center (MWCHC).  The Family Fun Walk is a one-mile walk in Bicentennial Mall State Park supporting the MWCHC’s “Dial Down Diabetes” program, which is sponsored by AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation.  It is an effort to reduce and prevent cardiovascular disease by “dialing down” on the impact of undiagnosed diabetes, prediabetes, and diabetes in low-income adults.

After the event, Dr. Rachel Franks, a Belmont University College of Pharmacy Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, and 10 Belmont University College of Pharmacy students conducted a health fair.  Dr. Franks and students provided participants with their weight, height, and body mass index, and blood pressure, blood glucose, and bone mineral density screenings.

Students and faculty within the Belmont College of Pharmacy have worked with Preston Taylor Ministries (PTM) for over three years and recently spent a Saturday cleaning the facility and grounds, grading papers and decorating to provide a welcoming environment for the children in West Nashville.

Preston Taylor Ministries was founded in 1998 to confront many of the problems present in the Preston Taylor public housing area in West Nashville. Challenges to children in that community included exposure to drug use, gang involvement, teenage pregnancy, illiteracy, poor school performance and crime. In order to provide hope for children living in this environment, PTM sponsors programs for building life-changing relationships. Staff and volunteers introduce new experiences to children in art, music, dance, language, bible study, nutrition and other areas.

The Belmont University Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) team raised $1500 for the 2012 Nashville AIDS 5K walk, sponsored by the non-profit organization Nashville Cares earlier this month. The 23-person Belmont team included deans, faculty, and pharmacy students who joined hundreds of community participants to benefit thousands of individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Nashville/Davidson County and seventeen surrounding counties of northern Middle Tennessee.

Nicholas Toia, a third year doctoral student in the College of Pharmacy, participated this summer as the VALOR (VA Learning Opportunities Residency) Student Pharmacist at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System in Reno, Nev.

While there are multiple VALOR positions available throughout the country in the area of pharmacy and nursing, Nicholas served as the only VALOR Student Pharmacist for this institution. The salaried internship provided in-depth exposure to in-patient and outpatient pharmacy services provided to the regional veteran population. This included completing medication reconciliation and patient discharge counseling to veterans leaving the facility, working with Pharmacy Informaticists on the monitoring and reporting of pertinent hospital-patient data relating to pharmacy practice and working with Oncology Pharmacists researching the use and NIOSH/OSHA compliance of closed system transfer devices for hazardous drug manipulation and administration.

Nicholas also worked with the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Pharmacoeconomics in reviewing outpatient vital signs for the evaluation of drug therapy in a disease specific subset of the local veteran population. The VA Sierra Nevada employs about 70 people in the pharmacy service, including approximately 20 Clinical Pharmacy Specialists, 10 Pharmacists, five PGY1 and three PGY2 pharmacy residents.

In the first of its kind lecture series, the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) at Belmont University College of Pharmacy recently sponsored a seminar entitled “HIV 101″ in partnership with the non-profit organization Nashville Cares.  The seminar was attended by 80 pharmacy students and faculty.  “Through this ongoing partnership with Nashville Cares” said Dr. Edgar Diaz-Cruz, SNPhA faculty advisor, “our pharmacy students are gaining an edge to better serve and counsel patients with HIV/AIDS in the community.”  Nashville Cares representatives Amy Walter and Lisa Binkley will return to Belmont in the months ahead to present a second part of the lecture series.

Fifteen students from Belmont University College of Pharmacy volunteered this past Saturday to administer flu vaccine to children of the Vanderbilt Pediatric Clinics and their parents.  The event was set up in a disaster drill format, with dozens of Vanderbilt faculty and staff serving in various roles.  The immunizations were logged into a Vanderbilt database for future use.

Belmont student volunteers included: Kelly Maguigan, Shaneika Walker, Erica Wass, Hozan Hussain, Young Oh, Baogi Liang, Myong Yoo, Lisa Tackett, Jennifer Corder, Whitney Dulin, Cody Hall, Melissa Holloway, Pamela Wong, Gena Curl, and Mandy Newman.

The students were able to administer vaccine to adults, adolescents and children – a new experience for several.  Virtually all of the 500+ vaccinations were administered by student pharmacists from Belmont and Lipscomb Universities.