FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2017
Media Contacts:
Chad Clinton
Associate Director, Public Relations
American Pharmacists Association
(202) 429-7558
WASHINGTON, DC – The Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA) has selected Debra L. Parker, RPh, as the recipient of the 2017 Bowl of Hygeia Award for outstanding community service. Parker was presented the award at the 2017 Annual Conference Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 21. The Bowl of Hygeia is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, and the American Pharmacists Association, with support from Boehringer Ingelheim.
Parker has contributed to her community since graduating from the Ohio Northern University in 1999. She is an exceptional leader in the profession of pharmacy. As Dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Findlay, she has been active in several campus-wide committees and in campus and community service activities. She is a recipient of the Excellence in Innovation Awards for her professional activities at the former Physician's Inc. in Lima and now at St. Rita's Medical Center Medication Management Center.
Parker currently works with several pharmacy organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, the American Pharmacists Association, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Ohio Pharmacists Association, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, the Northwest Ohio Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists, and the Ohio Society of Health Systems Pharmacists.
Parker chairs the Drug Abuse Task Force of the Hancock County Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Service. She is the superintendent of Jr. Sunday School and chairs the music committee of the Westminister United Church of Christ. She is a Findlay Rotarian, participates in health and diabetes screenings in her community, is a volunteer for the Medical Reserve Corps in Hancock, Allen, and Hardin Counties, and volunteers at the Findlay Health Department H1N1 Clinic.
Established in 1958, the Bowl of Hygeia Award recognizes pharmacists who possess outstanding records of civic leadership in their communities and encourages pharmacists to take an active role in the affairs of their respective communities. The award is presented annually by participating state pharmacist associations, including those in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition to service through their local, state and national pharmacy associations, award recipients have devoted their time, talent and resources to a wide variety of causes and community service.
The Bowl of Hygeia is the most widely recognized international symbol for the pharmacy profession and is considered one of the profession’s most prestigious awards. The Bowl of Hygeia has been associated with the pharmacy profession since as early as 1796 when the symbol was used on a coin minted for the Parisian Society of Pharmacy. The bowl represents a medicinal potion and the snake represents healing. Healing through medicine is precisely why the pharmacy profession has adopted the Bowl of Hygeia symbol.
About the American Pharmacists Association Foundation
The APhA Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., is a trusted source of research demonstrating how pharmacists can improve health care. The APhA Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s health through pharmacists’ patient care services. The APhA Foundation is affiliated with the American Pharmacists Association, the national professional society of pharmacists in the U.S. For more information, please visit the APhA Foundation website www.aphafoundation.org. Follow the APhA Foundation on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.
About the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations
The National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) promotes leadership, sharing, learning, and policy exchange among pharmacy leaders in all 50 states and Washington, DC, and provides education and advocacy to support pharmacists, patients, and communities working together to improve public health. NASPA was founded in 1927 as the National Council of State Pharmacy Association Executives (NCSPAE). For more information, please visit the NASPA website www.naspa.us.