January 2010
Dear COPHS Alumni and Friends,
Happy New Year! With a new year will often come new traditions, so I am excited to share that each month you will receive an email from me sharing news about the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
As much as the College is looking forward to 2010, we cannot help but remember 2009, which marked the beginning of a new era for health education at Butler. On Oct. 1, we dedicated a new 40,000-square-foot addition to the Pharmacy and Health Sciences Building. The building includes state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories that enhance learning and provide more opportunities for hands-on practice. I encourage you to learn more about the addition by watching this video tour.
The addition is an important component of the College’s vision to equip students to become “agents of change” and provide solutions to the unmet health needs of their communities. Thanks to a $25 million Lilly Endowment grant we received in 2006, we are making great strides in this effort.
The grant has allowed us to develop many projects that promote public health and wellness.
Some of these projects include the Butler University Community Outreach Pharmacy (BUCOP), a joint venture with Indiana University’s School of Medicine. What’s unique about this project is it’s entirely student-run; IU medical students run a health clinic and Butler pharmacy students run a pharmacy. All services are free and target residents living in Indianapolis’ Neighborhood Fellowship community — a community where roughly 50 percent of residents live at or below the poverty level. Our ultimate goal is to expand this partnership or develop another community outreach clinic in which contributions from physician assistant students and student pharmacists can be fully utilized.
Another public health project is a new Community Health Resource website that was created for consumers and health professionals to obtain information about Indiana’s numerous health services options, many of which are free or available at a discount.
As pharmacists and physician assistants, we have an obligation to help improve the health of others. I invite you to share your stories about the difference you are making within your own community. I look forward to hearing from you.
