Walgreens recognizes 27,000 pharmacists for commitment to patients

DEERFIELD, Ill. — As part of American Pharmacists Month throughout October, Walgreens is recognizing its more than 27,000 pharmacists for their dedication to patient care, and the growing and important role they continue to play in health care today.



“Our pharmacists’ commitment to Walgreens patients is evident every day, and this year, especially, we’ve seen countless illustrations of our pharmacists going above and beyond,” stated Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of pharmacy and retail operations. “As we recognize our pharmacists as part of American Pharmacists Month, it’s also an opportunity to highlight their extraordinary efforts after hurricanes impacted Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico. The care, teamwork and resilience demonstrated by Walgreens pharmacists and our other employees proved critical in meeting the needs of our patients and communities at a critical time.”



Thousands of Walgreens employees and health service providers were involved in relief and recovery efforts following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, further demonstrating the important role Walgreens pharmacists have in their respective communities.  



Some examples include:

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  To help meet medication and medical supply needs, Walgreens pharmacists set up on-site pharmacy operations at several shelters, including one at the George R. Brown Conference Center in Houston and another at Florida International University in Miami. The shelter at FIU housed Florida Keys evacuees with special medical needs as well as dialysis-dependent patients evacuated from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico;


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  Walgreens pharmacists were also an invaluable and integral partner of hospitals in areas affected by the hurricanes. For example, the pharmacy manager of the Walgreens location at the Women’s Hospital of Texas in Houston, working on her own, compounded medications for the hospital’s NICU patients while also filling needed prescriptions so pediatric patients could be discharged from the hospital; and


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  When the Walgreens pharmacy staff at Baptist Hospital in Beaumont, Texas, was unable to get to the location due to flooding, several Walgreens pharmacists from neighboring locations helped hospital staff get medications to patients in critical condition who were being transferred via helicopter.  

In addition to celebrating American Pharmacists Month, during October and November, Walgreens is also recognizing the important role of its nearly 50,000 additional health care service providers, including its pharmacy technicians, Healthcare Clinic nurse practitioners and physician assistants, in conjunction with National Physician Assistant Week (Oct. 6-12), National Pharmacy Technician Day (Oct. 17) and National Nurse Practitioner Week (Nov. 12–18).