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Assistant Editor, Pharmacy Times
The Good Neighbor PharmacyProvider Network, a program ofAmerisourceBergen, awarded 4 memberpharmacies for their work inmaintaining quality patient care intheir stores. The awards were presentedat the AmerisourceBergen HealthcareConference & Exposition, whichwas held in Las Vegas in July 2007.The 4 awards were given in the followingcategories: Pharmacist of theYear; Pharmacy of the Year; HomeHealth Care Pharmacy of the Year;and Diabetes Shoppe ?Living WithoutLimits.? The Diabetes Shoppe is anoffering of AmerisourceBergen whichprovides marketing and educationalsupport to independent pharmaciesthat are dedicated to the care andmanagement of diabetes patients.
Each year, the Good NeighborPharmacy Pharmacist of the Yearaward is given to a respected and distinguishedleader in the pharmacyprofession and the community. Thisyear?s recipient was Harvey E.Schmidt, RPh, president of Schmidtand Sons Pharmacies, which hasstores in Blissfield, Clinton, Dundee,and Tecumseh, Mich. Dave Schenck,national director for Good NeighborPharmacy, said of Schmidt, ?Harveyis an exemplary role model. As theowner of not 1, but 4, Good NeighborPharmacies, and as the mayor ofTecumseh, Mich, he is a very busyman. However, he still takes the timeto serve and counsel patients as ifeach was his one and only patient.Harvey spends not only his professionaltime but also his personal timeand resources to treat his patients likethey were his own family members.?
The Pharmacy of the Year award ispresented each year to a pharmacythat represents the best that GoodNeighbor Pharmacy has to offer andcan serve as a model for other stores.This year?s award went to ButlerPharmacy of Point Pleasant, NJ, andowner Norman Beyer. ?Butler Pharmacyis truly a Point Pleasant institution,having been in the communityfor more than 50 years,? said Schenck.?When people refer to it, they call it?The Drug Store.? They don?t evenneed to mention the name. That is atestament to their vital and longstandingrole in the community.? Inaddition to pharmacy services, thestore provides a variety of offeringsthat include almost everything, fromvitamins and home health care productsto an extensive selection of gifts.
The Home Health Care Pharmacyof the Year award is bestowed on thepharmacy that demonstrates excellencein providing patients withgoods and support staff and also hasestablished a successful home healthcare business in its community. Thisyear, the honor was given to NorthernPharmacy and Medical Equipmentin Baltimore, Md, and ownerMarty Mintz. ?If you ask NorthernPharmacy?s patients why they lovetheir pharmacy, they will tell you it isbecause they can count on Marty andhis staff to get the medications theyneed, even in an emergency,? Schencksaid. ?[Northern Pharmacy?s patients]will tell you that the pharmaciststhere are not strangers?they arelike friends who are eager to help,?said Schenck.
The pharmacy award for DiabetesShoppe ?Managing Diabetes: LivingWithout Limits? is presented to thepharmacy that is recognized as aleader in providing diabetes care tothe community. This year, that pharmacyis Sparrow Pharmacy Pluslocated in Grand Ledge,Mich. ?Manypharmacies might just hand diabetespatients a blood glucose meter andsend them out the door,? said ScottRobinson, director of Patient CarePrograms for AmerisourceBergen.?However, Sparrow Pharmacy Plushas 2 employees who are dedicatedexclusively to the care of diabetespatients. They talk to the patients,they listen, they educate, and theymonitor trends and changes in theirpatients? conditions.? The pharmacyis the go-to resource for diabetes carein its community.
Congratulations to all the winners.