Students Announced for Inaugural PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars Program

PRESS RELEASESpringfield, VA (August 23, 2016) - The Pharmacy Quality Alliance is pleased to announce the inaugural class of PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars. The PQA-CVS Health Foundation Scholars program is a new initiative designed to foster student interest in performance measurement and quality improvement. As part of their applications, student pharmacists were required to submit a concept for a unique project they will develop throughout the academic year with the assistance of a mentor, and then present during the PQA Annual Meeting in May 2017.

"We received a number of strong applications and are excited to see how our scholars learn, grow, and develop as quality-minded professionals over the next year," said Hannah Fish, Associate Director for Education and Communications at the Pharmacy Quality Alliance. She continued, "PQA is pleased to partner with the CVS Health Foundation to offer this unique program for students. We are confident that through this program we will create future pharmacist leaders who can champion medication use quality that enhances patient care and outcomes in healthcare."

PQA and the CVS Health Foundation are committed to supporting future pharmacy leaders and their education of quality performance and measurement. The goal of this scholarship program is to support and recognize student excellence in projects centered on quality-related initiatives; encourage, promote, and improve education surrounding quality measures and value-based models of care; and foster student interest and engagement in the development of quality-related initiatives. The program provides a scholarship for scholars to attend the PQA Leadership Summit in November and present the results of their project at the PQA Annual Meeting in May 2017. For more information about the PQA - CVS Health Foundation Scholars Program please visit the website athttp://pqaalliance.org/academic/scholars.asp.

The inaugural scholars are:

• Christian Gill, PharmD Candidate 2017, University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy
• Stephanie Gore, PharmD Candidate 2018, Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy
• Timmy Huynh, PharmD Candidate 2018, Chapman University School of Pharmacy
• Benjamin Jolley, PharmD Candidate 2018, St. Louis College of Pharmacy
• Christopher Kapolas, PharmD Candidate 2017, Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy
• Sefa Kploanyi, PharmD Candidate 2017, Touro College of Pharmacy
• Elainie Martinez, PharmD Candidate 2017, University of Charleston School of Pharmacy
• Ramona McClain, PharmD Candidate 2018, Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy
• Bob Pang, PharmD Candidate 2017, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
• Kavita Parikh, PharmD Candidate 2017, Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy
• Jenish Patel, PharmD Candidate 2017, University of Michigan College of Pharmacy
• Julie Patterson, PharmD Candidate 2017, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy
• Michael Peters, PharmD Candidate 2017, Purdue University College of Pharmacy
• Michael Pinto, PharmD Candidate 2019, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
• Anne Reda, PharmD Candidate 2018, Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy
• Justin Saver, PharmD Candidate 2018, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
• Riley Stelzer, PharmD Candidate 2018, Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy
• Keri Stenger, PharmD Candidate 2017, University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy
• Amanda Van Matre, PharmD Candidate 2019, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences