Pacific University School of Pharmacy Hillsboro, OR
Pacific University’s School of Pharmacy partnered with the University’s School of Graduate Psychology, School of Audiology, School of Dental Hygiene, and College of Optometry, as well as several local initiatives to sponsor six individual events, in addition to an ongoing partnership with a primary care clinic. Pacific University’s Medication Adherence events centered around low-income communities, communities of color, and collaboration amongst interprofessional peers. Throughout the Team Challenge, Pacific University directly counseled 152 patients, reaching a total of 628 people, and collected 700 wallet cards, by placing a focused effort to expand their physical and digital impression with social media and involvement in local initiatives. The team’s events included interprofessional presentations at psychology clinics, informative tabling events, outreach at an underserved primary clinic, and a complementary dental care event. Pacific University placed a great emphasis on cultural competency throughout their patient counseling efforts by addressing barriers to health literacy faced by patients of Hispanic and Vietnamese backgrounds.
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA
University of Pittsburgh’s interprofessional team consisted of the University’s School of Dental Medicine, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Public Health, School of Nursing, and School of Social Work. University of Pittsburgh reached 2,387 people over the span of 70 events. During these events the teams directly counseled 2,107 patients, distributed about 400 wallet cards and secured 1,907 “I Will” Pledges. The team conducted outreach over an expansive media platform, amplifying medication adherence messaging across three different radio stations reaching approximately 125,000 listeners throughout the region. University of Pittsburgh bolstered the multidisciplinary nature of their team by coordinating an interprofessional trivia night and forum. In addition, the team partnered with the nonprofit Operation Better Block to coordinate a health fair, providing point of care testing and health care counseling to over 80 attendees. The team was also able to integrate Script Your Future messaging during patient intake and consultation through partnership with the Birmingham Free Clinic.
Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Rookie Award
Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, in conjunction with the Wilkes University Passan School of Nursing, made an excellent debut in this year’s Team Challenge. The team’s activities included collaborating with local pharmacy organizations to advance diabetes, smoking cessation, and cardiovascular medication adherence efforts. The team expanded their outreach to church and nursing home settings across ten discrete events throughout the Challenge. A unique component of the team’s outreach included engaging over 100 scouts in the Generation RX and MedWise Scout Event, teaching children ages 11-17 of the importance of proper medication usage.
2019 Focused Award Winners
Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy (NEOMED), Rootstown, OH
Health Disparities/Under-represented Community Outreach Award
Pharmacy, medical, nursing practitioner, and optometry students from Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy (NEOMED) focused their health disparities driven outreach to underserved populations with respiratory illnesses. In an effort to combat high smoking rates in their community, the team also placed a great emphasis on smoking cessation related outreach efforts. As a result, the team engaged in efforts to teach proper inhaler usage in patients with respiratory illnesses such as asthma and COPD. The team also expanded their outreach to middle and high school aged children to emphasize the value of adherence and respiratory health by demonstrating proper inhaler usage and technique.
Touro University California College of Pharmacy, Vallejo, CA
Communication and Media Outreach Award
Touro University California College of Pharmacy, has reclaimed their win from last year for the Media/Communications Outreach Award. Pharmacy, medicine, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner students collaborated to produce nine public service announcement videos across various social media platforms. The team used the diversity within their members to their advantage by catering messaging to reflect relevant issues affecting their patient populations. The team also expanded their reach to local newspapers to amplify the value of taking medications properly and in a timely manner.
University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, Charleston, SC
Creative Inter-Professional Team Event Award
The University of Charleston School of Pharmacy partnered with nursing, physician assistant, and health promotions students to organize multiple health fairs and Script Your Future events throughout the Charleston and southern West Virginia regions. The team’s health promotions students worked closely with the School of Pharmacy in the implementation of Generation Rx and Rex the Rx™ prevention programs in over 40 local elementary schools. The interprofessional team also organized an episode on the University’s Blog Talk Radio series that was hosted by students from the pharmacy, nursing, and PA programs. The Blog Talk Radio episode reached an estimated 12,500 listeners and focused on the unique role each member of the healthcare team has in the management of chronic diseases.