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Mission Statement of the Iowa Pharmacy Foundation
The mission of the Iowa Pharmacy Foundation is to advance the
practice of pharmacy in Iowa through education and research.
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About the Foundation
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The Iowa Pharmacy Foundation was established in 1960 as a
charitable, non-profit foundation to offer loans and scholarships to deserving
pharmacy students. The Foundation began with a small loan from the Association
as a source of initial capital, a sum to be repaid from gifts and bequests
solicited mostly from Iowa pharmacists.
The Foundation’s original goals were to "interest young men and
women in careers in pharmacy in Iowa; emphasize the role of the pharmacist as a
member of the public health team; enhance the stature and prestige of the
profession of pharmacy; and advance and perpetuate the profession through
continuing scientific research."
Following the sale of the Iowa Pharmacy Service Corporation,
the Foundation’s resources increased significantly. The Foundation was then
able to broaden their support of student activities and offer additional
services to the profession of pharmacy in Iowa, which enhanced the other
aspects of the original IPF mission. Today, after 40 years, the Iowa Pharmacy
Foundation’s mission to advance the practice of pharmacy in Iowa through
education and research initiatives continues.
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Student Support
The Iowa Pharmacy Foundation provides support for pharmacy
students in Iowa through many different avenues. The scholarships that were the
main goal of the original Foundation Board have been expanded to assist more
deserving students in attaining their career goals. In addition, the Foundation
awards scholarships to pharmacy students who demonstrate leadership and vision
for the profession.
Because the Foundation believes that professionalism is a key
component to a successful pharmacy career, financial assistance is provided to
students attending national, state and local pharmacy organization meetings.
The fostering of professional attitudes and involvement is continued as the
Foundation welcomes pharmacy graduates to the profession as they make the
transition from student to pharmacist.
A Pharmacy Student Leadership Conference is held each year for
pharmacy students from Drake and Iowa. Leadership principles and pharmacy
issues are discussed, providing students with opportunities to advance their
professionalism and leadership potential.
The Max W. Eggleston Executive Internship in Association
Management provides an opportunity to one pharmacy student each year to
experience the career of a pharmacist in association management. Over the
years, this unique experience has provided many students with the opportunity
to learn about the association and the importance of professionalism, as well
as network with pharmacy leaders throughout the state and the country.
Leadership Pharmacy
In many respects, Iowa is a leader throughout the country in
advancing innovative pharmacy practice. This is due in large part to the
successes demonstrated through programs such as the
New Practitioner Leadership Conference, which the Foundation began in
1989. Hundreds of pharmacists have benefited from this initiative, and those
pharmacists have proceeded to lead the state down successful paths to better
patient care. Many of the Leadership Pharmacy Conference graduates
have assumed leadership roles in their communities, in their practices, and in
local, state and national pharmacy organizations.
Practice-Based Research
Research, a core reason for the development of the Foundation
in 1960, remains a focus for the Iowa Pharmacy Foundation. From various grant
awards to the Poster Presentation Award, the Foundation continues to foster and
reward innovative ideas and best practice initiatives. Over the years, grants
provided by the Foundation have fostered activity in the areas of immunization
administration by pharmacists, pharmaceutical care in community pharmacy
practice, pharmaceutical care education in acute care practice settings,
community-based residency programs, and demonstration of overall health care
savings with the addition of pharmacist services. These milestones in Iowa
pharmacy were possible because of the resources made available by the Iowa
Pharmacy Foundation.
Patient Education and Public Outreach
An important aspect in enhancing patient care is communication
with patients and the public as a whole. The Iowa Pharmacy Foundation works to
develop programs and materials that assist pharmacists in communicating
pharmacy’s message in their communities. Initiatives such as Katy’s Kids, a
program targeted at educating young children about the importance of their
pharmacist and the medications they may take, have been born under the auspices
of the Foundation. Educating the public about the importance of including their
pharmacist on their health care team is a critical component to the future of
the profession in Iowa.
Iowa Center for Pharmaceutical Care
The Iowa Center for Pharmaceutical Care, perhaps one of the
most significant achievements of the Iowa Pharmacy Foundation, is a unique,
innovative three-way partnership between the Iowa Pharmacy Association, and the
University of Iowa and Drake University Colleges of Pharmacy. This
collaboration could have only existed under the auspices of the Foundation, and
due to the financial support from IPF, created an unprecedented initiative,
which is nationally and internationally renowned.
The Iowa Center for Pharmaceutical Care developed and
implemented a process in the state of Iowa to transform pharmacy practice to a
more patient care focused approach known as pharmaceutical care. The mission of
the ICPC, "to serve pharmacists in Iowa as a resource center dedicated to the
adoption, evaluation, and promotion of the tenets of pharmaceutical care as the
basis and central focus of the practice of pharmacy," has become the
cornerstone for many other initiatives in Iowa. ICPC continues to expand to
include many facets of education and re-engineering, while continuing to focus
on the goal of expanding the practice of pharmaceutical care in Iowa.
Pharmacy Heritage
The Iowa Pharmacy Foundation believes that to progress into the
future, it is important to understand the past. In 1993, the Foundation
commissioned the writing of Transitions Through Innovation - The Iowa
Pharmacists Association and Iowa Pharmacy: 1945-1997. In addition to this
historical piece detailing Iowa pharmacy’s recent past, the Foundation worked
with Living History Farms in Des Moines to create the Schafer Drug Store, a
living museum based on pharmacy practice in 1875. The Foundation continues to
support initiatives relating to both the continuation of the living museum and
projects that study the past in order to create a better future for pharmacy in
Iowa.
Helping students, promoting innovative practice, educating the
public, preserving our past, and stimulating leadership in the profession…
That’s what we’re all about!
Our success in achieving this important mission and vision
rests upon the generosity and commitment of each and every pharmacist. Clearly,
our ultimate success depends on you. Please join with your
colleagues in supporting our programs – programs that will serve to
perpetuate the vitality of our profession.
Future generations of pharmacists and the people they serve are
depending on us.
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