Brian Beach Receives 2015 NCPA Prescription Drug Safety Award

PRESS RELEASE

National Harbor, MD. (October 11, 2015) - Brian Beach, RPh of the Kelley-Ross Pharmacy Group in Seattle, Washington was named the winner of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) 2015 Prescription Drug Safety Award. Sponsored by

Smart-Fill

, the award recognizes pharmacists who have reached out in their communities to provide education on the benefits of the correct use of prescription drug products and the hazards associated with their misuse. Beach received the award during the First General Session of the NCPA 2015 Annual Convention on Sunday, October 11. Director Michael Botticelli, of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, assisted with the presentation of the award.

Four years ago Beach and his business partners made a commitment to implement solutions designed to help stem the tide of opioid overdoses. They focused on breaking down the barriers surrounding the issues of timely access to naloxone, the drug antidote for reversing opioid overdoses; demystifying the stigma associated with its usage; and raising greater community awareness of the drug¹s potential. Over the past few years, Beach and his innovative team have worked closely with other pharmacy partners, patients and stakeholders to expand the capacity for anyone to easily access this lifesaving medical tool in Seattle.

"Brian Beach is a very worthy recipient of the NCPA 2015 Prescription Drug Safety Award," said NCPA President John T. Sherrer, RPh, co-owner of Poole¹s Pharmacy in Marietta, Ga. "Regardless of whether opioid overdose results from illegal drug use or legal medication consumption, Brian believes that saving lives is the most important consideration, and that naloxone is the best available solution. His efforts to make the drug more accessible in emergency situations in Seattle are working."

A hallmark of this effort is Beach¹s pharmacy partnership with

Public Health-Seattle & King County

and the

University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute

to provide

take-home naloxone

to anyone who needs it, especially high-risk patients. The comprehensive program has been and continues to be adopted by other pharmacies. This a welcome development considering the epidemic of overdoses that currently plagues America. Even though naloxone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1971, very few pharmacies have carried it until the past couple of years.

Beach received a Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Washington in 2000. He worked at two different independent community pharmacies before joining Kelley-Ross in 2004, and helped to create a closed-door, long-term care pharmacy after many years as a mixed-model pharmacy. In addition, he has served on multiple National Advisory Boards, and also has been Chair of the Long-Term Care Academy for the

Washington State Pharmacy Association

(WSPA) and as President for WSPA, which honored him with the Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year award in 2006.

"On behalf of Smart-Fill and its more than 1,000 member pharmacies and affiliates across the country, we are proud to sponsor the 2015 NCPA Prescription Safety Award presented to Brian Beach of the Kelley-Ross Pharmacy Group," said Tim J. Gallagher, RPh, Group Vice President of Smart-Fill. "Brian and Kelley-Ross Pharmacies have made great strides in preventing deaths to due opioid overdoses in the Seattle King County area and are a shining example of the value of independent community pharmacies. We congratulate Brian and all his staff on this great achievement."