DUBLIN, Ohio — The Cardinal Health Foundation and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) have announced the recipients of GenerationRx Awards.
Cardinal Health said Tuesday that 2012 winner of the second annual APhA GenerationRx Award of Excellence, which recognizes a pharmacist for his or her outstanding efforts in prescription drug abuse prevention, is Anthony Tommasello, BSPharm, PhD, FAPHA, who was chosen for his work in substance abuse education.
Throughout his career, Tommasello has conducted research and provided education to a wide range of patient populations at risk for substance abuse, according to Cardinal and APhA.
"We are pleased to recognize Dr. Tommasello for his commitment to this critical public health issue," Elizabeth Cardello, director of corporate alliances for APhA, said in a statement.
APhA also awarded the third annual APhA-ASP Generation Rx Awards, which recognize use of the GenerationRx toolkit, a communications package that includes talking points, presentation materials and tips to enable users to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse in their communities.
The award is part of a competition among the 128 APhA Academy of Student Pharmacist Chapters. The 2012 national awards were presented to the top three chapters, in addition to eight regional awards. The top three chapters in this year’s competition were the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy and the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The chapters who received region awards were the Long Island University Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Region 1), University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy (Region 2), University of Florida College of Pharmacy (Region 3), Ohio Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy (Region 4), Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Region 5), University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy (Region 6); Idaho State University College of Pharmacy (Region 7), and University of California San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Region 8).
The Cardinal Health Foundation and APhA noted that the awards mark a continuation of their partnership to help prevent the abuse and misuse of prescription medications. The organizations work together to provide a comprehensive program to aid pharmacists and student pharmacists in educating their communities about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
"We believe that pharmacists and student pharmacists can play an important role in helping parents, educators, community leaders and teens better understand the dangers of prescription drug abuse," stated Dianne Radigan, vice president of the Cardinal Health Foundation, "and we’re pleased to work in collaboration with APhA to recognize the work Dr. Tommasello and these student chapters have done to help prevent prescription drug abuse."
