Shenandoah Inspires National Pharmacy Week Recognition

At the urging of a Shenandoah University Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy faculty member, the city of Winchester (Va.) is recognizing National Pharmacy Week. 

Assistant Professor Joseph M. Cusimano, Pharm.D., BCPP, submitted a proclamation about National Pharmacy Week to the city, and it was signed by the city’s mayor, John David Smith Jr. 

The proclamation reads: 

WHEREAS, October 16-22 is National Pharmacy Week, celebrating the invaluable contributions of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the American healthcare system; and 

WHEREAS, Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the community continue to play an instrumental role in the COVID-19 pandemic, providing and facilitating life-saving immunizations, tests, and treatments; and 

WHEREAS, Pharmacists play a vital role on the healthcare team, safeguarding the appropriate and safe use of medications; and 

WHEREAS, Pharmacists work side-by-side with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in hospitals, ambulatory clinics, and more, serving as medication experts and counseling patients about their medications; and 

WHEREAS, Many pharmacists serve in advanced clinical roles, specializing in areas like cardiology, infectious disease, and psychiatry, and are specialists in their chosen fields; and 

WHEREAS, Pharmacists provide medication therapy management (MTM) services, helping to optimize medication regimens to make them safer, more effective, and less costly. 

THEREFORE, I, JOHN DAVID SMITH, Mayor of Winchester, Virginia, do hereby proclaim October 16-22, 2022 as National Pharmacy Week. 

Shenandoah’s pharmacy school has locations in Winchester (at the Health Professions Building on the campus of Winchester Medical Center) and Fairfax (at the Inova Center for Personalized Health), and offers a variety of pharmacy programs, including a standalone Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and a Nontraditional Doctor of Pharmacy, as well as dual degrees: Pharm.D./MBA; Pharm.D./Master of Public Health, and Pharm.D./Master of Science in Pharmacogenomics & Personalized Medicine. 

Dr. Cusimano’s effort, said interim dean of the School of Pharmacy Robert Kidd, Pharm.D., Ph.D., “took National Pharmacy Week (Oct. 16-22) advocacy to the next level.”

“I am delighted to serve as an advocate at the local, state, and national level for the advancement of the pharmacy profession,” Cusimano said. 

Learn more about National Pharmacy Week on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ website and discover more about Shenandoah University’s School of Pharmacy at su.edu/pharmacy.