Jackson Mayor Scott Conger and Madison County Mayor A.J. Massey delivered a proclamation at Providence Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 12:30 p.m. in recognition of American Pharmacists Month.
Pharmacy students, professors and journalists attended the proclamation reading on the first floor of Providence Hall. Massey led with an introduction, and Conger read the proclamation.
“Whereas it is important to promote the profession of pharmacy as an essential health care provider … the City of Jackson and Madison County recognize American pharmacists and the importance of improving health and increasing access,” Conger said.
The roots of American Pharmacists Month go back to 1925 when various radio stations would highlight the importance of pharmacists. In 2004, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) declared October as American Pharmacists Month.
“[American Pharmacists Month is] a time to celebrate our pharmacists and to give thanks and appreciation for the important role they play every day in our health, our communities, and our lives,” the APhA website read.
Today, pharmacists are still recognized every October for their hard work as primary healthcare providers.
“Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare provider to everyone, and they are the drug experts on the medical terrain,” first-year pharmacy student Rachel Dawson said. “Patients of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, communities and cultures look to pharmacists for an array of information on treatments — from scrapes and sniffles to more intense prescription drugs. … Without pharmacists, the healthcare realm as we know it would be drastically different.”
The APhA encourages local communities to recognize American Pharmacists Month with proclamations like the one delivered by Conger and Massey.
In addition, the APhA encourages individuals to express their appreciation for pharmacists with social media posts and in-person thanks to their local pharmacists.
“Pharmacists do what they do because they genuinely care about you,” Dawson said. “Take the time to stop and simply say ‘thank you’ to the pharmacists in your life. Even the smallest of gestures make the greatest impacts.”
