Pharmacy Day at the Capitol: Advocating for a Healthy Kentucky
Pharmacy professionals in Kentucky are gearing up for an event that will underscore their invaluable role in delivering safe and effective patient care. Presented by the Kentucky Pharmacists Association (KPhA) in collaboration with the Kentucky Society of Health-System Pharmacists (KSHP), Kentucky Pharmacy Day at the Capitol provides an ideal platform for legislators to gain insights into the challenges facing the pharmacy profession.
The daylong event will spotlight the state's pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. It serves as a unifying occasion that transcends various practice settings, reminding state-elected officials of the unwavering commitment of pharmacists to patient well-being while setting forth clear expectations from policymakers. The event serves as a catalyst to champion public policy initiatives aimed at ensuring the pharmacy profession's continued relevance and its ability to meet evolving patient needs. Each year, attendees seize this opportunity to inform legislators about pharmacists' contributions to healthcare and express their support for pharmacy practice.
Kyle Bryan, PharmD, adjunct assistant professor and practice implementation pharmacist at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy (UKCOP), coordinates efforts with student organization leaders to promote pharmacy students’ attendance.
“Pharmacy Day at the Capitol provides us, pharmacists and future pharmacists, with a platform to voice our concerns about the future of our profession,” said Bryan. “This unique opportunity allows our students to interact with legislators directly and showcase what they are being taught. Ultimately, this collective effort contributes significantly to preserving pharmacy as a fundamental pillar of healthcare in Kentucky."
In conjunction with legislator visits, UKCOP students organize a health fair for legislators and their staff. The health fair's central theme is pharmacists’ pivotal role in promoting public health. This gathering offers a distinctive chance for grassroots advocacy through face-to-face interactions, allowing student pharmacists to demonstrate their extensive knowledge and training. Student organization leaders have designed informative stations, each addressing crucial aspects of pharmacists' contributions to healthcare, including:
- Offering cholesterol screening and blood pressure checks to promote heart health.
- Providing diabetes screenings to address a growing health concern.
- Addressing the pressing public health issue of opioid use disorder in Kentucky.
- Emphasizing the significance of immunizations in disease prevention.
- Delivering reproductive health education and cancer screenings to empower individuals with knowledge about cancer prevention and reproductive health.
- Amplifying the voice of pharmacists and their vital role within the healthcare system.
Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and student pharmacists are strongly encouraged to participate in the event and converge on the state capitol on February 22, 2024. Kentucky Pharmacy Day at the Capitol is an occasion for unity, advocacy, and a resounding declaration of the indispensable role pharmacists and technicians play in our healthcare system.
We wish to remember and honor those who inhabited this Commonwealth before the arrival of the Europeans. Briefly occupying these lands were the Osage, Wyndott tribe, and Miami peoples. The Adena and Hopewell peoples, who are recognized by the naming of the time period in which they resided here, were here more permanently. Some of their mounds remain in the Lexington area, including at UK’s Adena Park.
In more recent years, the Cherokee occupied southeast Kentucky, the Yuchi southwest Kentucky, the Chickasaw extreme western Kentucky and the Shawnee central Kentucky including what is now the city of Lexington. The Shawnee left when colonization pushed through the Appalachian Mountains. Lower Shawnee Town ceremonial grounds are still visible in Greenup County.
We honor the first inhabitants who were here, respect their culture, and acknowledge the presence of their descendants who are here today in all walks of life including fellow pharmacists and healthcare professionals.