PharmD students show suppport for their profession in Springfield

Posted: 03/23/2012

Faculty and students from Roosevelt University’s inaugural PharmD class joined hundreds from the Illinois’ pharmacy community on March 7 in Springfield where they met with their legislators and had the opportunity to see the General Assembly in session. (Pictured above at Legislative Day orientation are students (seated, middle row, from left to right): Sean Kennedy (looking down), Jacob Backhoff, Christian Dang, Valerie Glodowskis, Tyler Davis, Gordana Milosevic, Joshua Grant and Nancy Caddigan).

Five College of Pharmacy (COP) faculty members and eight students participated in the trek to the Illinois state capital for the annual Pharmacy Legislative Day, organized by the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists and the Illinois Pharmacists Association.

“This was a great opportunity for our students to see how healthcare legislation is developed and how pharmacy law in particular can change the environment in which pharmacists and patients co-exist,” said Dr. Fatima Ali, assistant professor of clinical science and one of the organizers of the COP trip.

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During the excursion, Dr. Cara Brock, director of professional labs, Ali and student pharmacists met with Illinois Senator Dan Kotowski (pictured at right with pharmacy students from Roosevelt, Chicago State, Midwestern University and University of Chicago). The senator helped Roosevelt University secure start-up funds for the opening of COP in 2011. The Roosevelt group joined with nearly 400 Illinois pharmacy professionals in advocating for and against specific proposed legislation impacting the field.

“It was great to be able to make the trip together as a community and to be able to demonstrate our commitment to the pharmacy profession,” said Roosevelt student Gordana Milosevic, president of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy and a 2014 PharmD candidate.

Other Roosevelt students in attendance, all 2014 PharmD candidates, included: Nancy Caddigan, Tyler Davis, Christian Dang, Jacob Backhoff, Sean Kennedy, Valerie Glodowski and Joshua Grant. They were joined by Ali, Brock and Professors John Maxwell, Randall Lambert and Abby Kahaleh.

Among proposed legislation the group advocated for were: House Bill 5695, which would amend the Illinois Public Aid code to provide coverage of prescribed over-the-counter medications to Medicaid patients and Senate Bill 3513, which would amend the state’s Illinois Pharmacy Act, allowing pharmacists to vaccinate patients starting at seven years of age, instead of the current 14 years of age. During the visit, the group also urged legislators to reject House Bill 5293, which would force pharmacists to waive prescription drug payments for unemployed patients.

“We got a chance to wear our white coats and to see our government in action,” said Caddigan, who had the opportunity to shake hands and say ‘thanks’ to Senator Kotowski. “We were heard and seen and it’s great to come away from the experience knowing that our voices really do matter,” she said.

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