Iowa pharmacist, UT Austin students take home NCPA awards
NEW ORLEANS — At the National Community Pharmacist Association’s 2016 Annual Convention, the organization gave out two of its biggest awards, naming Randy McDonough year’s Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year and giving the top honor from the 2016 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition to a team from the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.
McDonough received his award, which is sponsored by Upsher-Smith Laboratories, during the First General Session at the Annual Convention. McDonough, a Health Mart pharmacist, co-owns Iowa City, Iowa’s Towncrest Pharmacy and Towncrest Compounding, as well as Solon, Iowa’s Solon Towncrest Pharmacy. He is also the founder and co-owner of Innovative Pharmacy Solutions, a clinical documentation software company that enables community pharmacies to expand their scope of practice efficiently.
“Randy McDonough is a very deserving recipient of the prestigious Willard B. Simmons Independent Pharmacist of the Year award for 2016,” NCPA president Brad Arthur said. “He is a huge proponent of ensuring that the transformation in the delivery of health care makes room for pharmacies in those efforts to help patients maximize their health outcomes and ultimately reduce costs. He is a visionary who practices what he preaches.”
McDonough oversees the development, implementation and quality assurance for the clinical services at his pharmacies, among them medication therapy management (MTM), nursing home consultations, wellness screenings, immunizations and adherence service. He is a board-certified geriatrics and as a pharmacotherapy specialist. He is also a member of the NCPA, the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the Iowa Pharmacists Association.
McDonough wasn’t the only person who left the NCPA Annual Convention with an award, as the winners of the 2016 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition were announced on Oct. 15 following a live competition.
The winning team, from the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, included Heather Rozea, Brittany Corbell, Taylor Dean, Jennifer Ma and Jigar Satasia, advised by Dr. Nathan Pope. Their NCPA student chapter received $3,000 and had $3,000 donated to the their school in the dean’s name, and they will receive complimentary travel, registration and lodging at the NCPA 2017 Multiple Locations Conference.
"We commend all the participating teams from the 2016 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition, but ultimately one team stood out above the rest and was declared the winner – the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy,” said NCPA president Bradley J. Arthur, who co-owns Black Rock Pharmacy and Brighton-Eggert Pharmacy in Buffalo, N.Y. “With half of small businesses failing within their first five years, these teams of pharmacy students received invaluable experience that increases their chances of being successful pharmacy owners. If these well-thought-out business plans are any indication of the future of independent community pharmacies, then the future is in good hands.”
This year’s competition saw participants from 46 schools and colleges of pharmacy nationwide. It was named to honor the late Neil Pruitt, Sr., and the late H. Joseph Schutte and it is supported by Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Co. and the NCPA Foundation.
At the NCPA convention, three finalist teams made live presentations for their business plans to the competition’s judges and an audience. The first runner-up team hailed from the North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy and was composed of Huy Pham, Felicia Charles, Stephanie Sun and Michael Verble, advised by Dr. Patrick Brown. The second runner-up was the University of Maryland and included Elaine Pranski Brandon Biggs, Caleb Goodrich and David Tran, advised by Dr. Ashlee Mattingly.
“The NCPA Foundation helps cultivate the next generation of independent community pharmacy owners and the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition is our crown jewel in those efforts,” said NCPA Foundation president Charles West said. “Many past participants in the competition have gone into ownership and always point to this experience as being an important stepping stone. Judging by the submitted business plans and live presentations of the finalists, the ranks of successful pharmacy owners will only grow.”
The judges for this year’s live competition were Live Oak Bank’s Mike Bollinger, Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Co.’s Jon Grether, AmerisourceBergen’s Charlie Le Bon, NCPA past president and NCPA Foundation board member Jerry Shapiro.