College of Pharmacy Assisting Local Communities in Combating COVID-19

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Pharmacy Sanitizer Donation

ATLANTA – While Mercer University’s College of Pharmacy faculty members were transitioning coursework to virtual formats, many students spent the week of March 15-21 seeking out ways to help their communities combat the new coronavirus.

Third-year pharmacy student Julie Parker created a comprehensive COVID-19 policy including phone screening and in-person training for Hollberg’s Fine Furniture in Senoia.

Sanitizer Compounding
Innovation Compounding Pharmacy in Kennesaw delivered hand sanitizer to Cobb County first responders (top). Fourth-year student Lucrecia Onyimah (above right) was involved in the production and delivery.

Several pharmacy students and their employers put to good use the Georgia Board of Pharmacy’s recent policy allowing pharmacies to temporarily compound certain alcohol-based hand sanitizers during the public health emergency.

Second-year student Abbey Overton and first-year student Annsley Bryan compounded hand sanitizer at Corner Drugs in Murray County and Lacey Drugs in Cobb County, respectively. Fourth-year student Lucrecia Onyimah assisted Innovation Compounding Pharmacy in Kennesaw with the production and delivery of hand sanitizer to Cobb County first responders.

A number of students volunteered with Open Hand Atlanta to prepare meals for those in need.

Additionally, the College of Pharmacy collected personal protection equipment (PPE) from its Pharmacy Simulation and Clinical Skills Laboratory and distributed it to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

“In such a serious public health emergency, I’m glad to see so many of our Mercer faculty, staff and students pulling together to help their greater community,” said College of Pharmacy Dean Brian L. Crabtree, Pharm.D. “We must do whatever we can to support health systems and providers to face this crisis. They need our support, and our Mercer Bears have answered that call.”

About the College of Pharmacy

Mercer University’s College of Pharmacy is ranked among the top five pharmacy programs at private institutions in the United States, according to the 2016 U.S. News & World Report. The college offers doctoral degrees in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and pharmaceutical sciences (Ph.D.). Founded in 1903 as the independent Southern School of Pharmacy, the school merged with Mercer University in 1959 and in 1981 became the first school in the Southeast to offer the doctor of pharmacy degree as its sole professional degree. In 1988, the College launched its graduate program, offering the Ph.D. degree in pharmaceutical sciences. With an enrollment today of more than 600 students and a distinguished faculty of basic scientists and clinicians, the College of Pharmacy houses four centers focusing on research, teaching and learning. The college’s motto, “A Tradition of Excellence – A Legacy of Caring,” frames its philosophy of providing excellent academic programs in an environment where every student matters and every person counts. For more information about the college, visit pharmacy.mercer.edu.