FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2017
Media Contacts:
Chad Clinton
Associate Director, Public Relations
American Pharmacists Association
(202) 429-7558
WASHINGTON, DC – The Oklahoma Pharmacists Association (OPhA) has selected Benjamin P. Allison, PharmD, as the recipient of the 2017 Bowl of Hygeia Award for outstanding community service. Allison was presented the award at the 2017 OPhA Awards Luncheon on Saturday, June 24. 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. Allison has contributed to his community since graduating from the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy in 2002. He began his career at Consumers Pharmacy in Muskogee in 1976, and returned to his hometown of Afton in 1979, where he owned and operated Allison Drug until 1981. Allison later moved to Vinita where he serves as independent pharmacy owner of Osborn Drug.
Allison is a member of the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association, having served as president from 2005-2006. He is also a member of the American Pharmacists Association and is the district director for the American College of Apothecaries. Throughout his career, Allison has been involved in his community and has served as a board member at Craig General Hospital, the Vinita area Chamber of Commerce, and the Craig County Red Cross. He is a past president and Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club of Vinita and has also served as fire chief for the Afton Volunteer Fire Department.
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.