by Clem Boyd, Communication Content Manager
Cedar Care Village Pharmacy will offer vaccinations and medication therapy management (MTM) beginning August 1.
Cedar Care, a teaching pharmacy of the Cedarville University School of Pharmacy, will begin offering vaccinations by appointment and during scheduled walk-in hours from 1pm to 4pm on Fridays and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. MTM services will be offered to qualifying patients.
Cedar Care will offer Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) and meningococcal (meningitis) vaccines for soon-to-be high school seniors, the influenza (flu) vaccine, the shingles vaccine, as well as other vaccines.
— Jeff Bates
For MTM services, a pharmacist will perform a comprehensive review of medicines, which will include discussing prescribed use of medicines, education about their particular condition (i.e., diabetes, hypertension) and whether the medicines are helping the patient achieve hoped-for health care outcomes.
As part of the MTM services, pharmacists and student pharmacists may perform point-of-care testing for cholesterol, hemoglobin A1C (for blood sugars) and blood pressure. They may also show patients how to test their own blood pressure with a blood pressure cuff or blood sugars with a glucometer.
“We will review lifestyle factors with the patients, including how often they are visiting their primary care physician,” noted Jeff Bates, associate dean of the Cedarville University School of Pharmacy. “We are an extension of the care their physician is providing, between appointments, to help them stay accountable to what the physician would want them to do.”
Cedar Care Village Pharmacy opened for business in April. In addition to licensed pharmacists, the pharmacy is a clinical rotation site for students from the school of pharmacy.
“Cedarville students are under the supervision and guidance of a managing pharmacist,” commented Bates. “They know how to give vaccines and perform point-of-care testing. They do an amazing job.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,193 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including its doctor of pharmacy and pharmd/mba dual degree programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.