Grant awarded to Jacobs, Daly to explore innovative patient care opportunities within community pharmacies

Community health workers (CHW) are not typically part of the community pharmacy setting. The grant, titled Impact and Feasibility of Establishing a Community Health Worker Program within Community Pharmacy Settings, will explore the potential of these workers to improve patient care through outreach, education, counseling, social support and advocacy, particularly in regards to complex patients with multiple health and behavioral conditions.

“Community pharmacists are often considered to be the most accessible and trusted healthcare professionals with frequent opportunities to interact with their patients," Jacobs says. "This work represents a shift for community pharmacies from a more traditional product-centered service to a patient-centric model focused on social determinants of health, medication access, and care management.”    

The team is working alongside Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Networks (CPESN) to analyze the feasibility, fidelity, and impact of a community health worker embedded within a community pharmacy practice and develop a process for implementation. Other team members include Tripp and Richard Logan, L&S Pharmacy in Charleston, MO, John Croce, Four Corners Pharmacy in Delmar, NY, and Troy Trygstad, Executive Director of CPESN.

The Community Pharmacy Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing community pharmacy practice and patient care delivery through grant funding and resource sharing.