October 05, 2006
Queens, NY -
St. John’s University President Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M.
and a host of well wishers and supporters celebrated the Grand
Opening of the Rite Aid Community Pharmacy Laboratory at this
afternoon’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on the University’s Queens
campus.
Photo
Gallery
After opening remarks from Robert A.
Mangione, Dean of the College of Pharmacy and
Allied Health Professions, Rev. Harrington blessed the facility
and the two were joined by University Provost Julia A. Upton, RSM,
Ph.D., Dr. Andrew J. Bartilucci, and Michele Belsey, Director
of College and Professional Recruitment for the Rite Aid Corporation for the
ceremony.
Guests were offered a guided tour by William Maidhof, Laboratory
Director of the Clinical Pharmacy Practice, and continued on to a
formal reception in the Dr. Andrew J.
Bartilucci Health Education Resource Center.
Congressman Gregory Meeks, whose efforts, along with those of
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, resulted in a Congressional Grant for the
new facility, spoke of his admiration for the University and its
programs.
“I represent the people in the House (of Representatives) and I
see this University as the People’s University,” Meeks said.
“I am proud to say I’m the Congressman that represents the mighty
St. John’s University.”
The Rite Aid Community Pharmacy Laboratory, funded with monies
supplied by the Rite Aid Corporation, as well as a Congressional
appropriation, is a state-of-the art facility designed to emulate
the structure of a traditional working pharmacy. Sixteen work
stations allow students to practice filling prescriptions,
answering questions and other skills required to perform as a
professional pharmacist. In addition, the laboratory contains
three counseling rooms, equipped with video recording devices,
where students can perform mock counseling sessions with faculty
and review the footage for self assessment.
The Grand Opening was part of a series of events planned by the
College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions to celebrate American
Pharmacists Month. The seventh annual White Coat Ceremony
is scheduled for October 23. Third-year pharmacy students
will don their white lab coats during a ceremony in Marillac
Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., initiating them into their first
professional year of the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree
Program. The ceremony concludes with students taking a
pledge of professional conduct and symbolizes a new level of
responsibility for patients and the profession.
Nationally recognized for its pharmacy and allied health
professions programs, the St. John’s College of Pharmacy and Allied
Health Professions provides students with the education, training
and support they need to meet the present and future demands
professionals encounter as pharmacists, physician assistants,
medical technologists, toxicologists and pathologist
assistants. Established in 1929, the College enrolls
2,283 undergraduate and graduate students, including 1,571 students
enrolled in the six-year Pharm.D. program.
One of the largest drugstore chains in the nation, the Rite Aid
Corporation combines its modern store base, strong brand name,
modern distribution centers and superior pharmacy technology with a
talented team of approximately 70,000 full and part-time associates
serving customers in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Rite
Aid currently operates approximately 3,323 stores, reporting total
sales of $17.3 billion at the end of its 2006 fiscal
year.
American Pharmacists Month is sponsored by the American
Pharmacists Association and is a month-long observance designed
to provide a channel to offer new services that will recognize
pharmacists’ contributions to the healthcare team.
For more information, please contact Elizabeth Reilly, Assistant
Director of Media Relations at St. John’s University at (718)
990-5789, or e-mail inquiries to reillye@stjohns.edu.
For information on the Rite Aid Corporation, visit www.RiteAid.com.