The AmerisourceBergen Foundation & Good Neighbor Pharmacy Launch Scholarship Program To Support Aspiring Black and African American Pharmacists

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA / ACCESSWIRE / January 27, 2023 / Good Neighbor Pharmacy (GNP), a national independent pharmacy network offered through AmerisourceBergen, in partnership with the AmerisourceBergen Foundation, an independent not-for-profit charitable giving organization focused on supporting health-related causes, announce the launch of the Good Neighbor Pharmacy Scholarship program. The newly formed program aims to assist Black and African American graduate students pursuing a Pharmacy Doctorate Degree, preferably at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU).

The Good Neighbor Pharmacy Scholarship is accepting applications now through February 28, 2023, at 3pm CT via Scholarship America ®. Recipients will be announced in April, with all scholarships benefiting students starting in the 2023-24 school year. To commemorate the first year of the program, four pharmacy school students (one rising P1, P2, P3, and P4) will be selected to receive $25,000 for each remaining academic year of their four-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. In the case of the P1 student, the scholarship will provide a $100,000 total investment towards their education. In subsequent years, a new rising P1 student will be selected to join the pool of previous winners, filling the space left by the graduating P4 student.

"At Good Neighbor Pharmacy, we firmly believe that advancing health equity starts at the community level, and that pharmacies - which are highly trusted, accessible and ingrained in their communities - are leading this charge," said Jennifer Zilka, President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. "We are keenly focused on supporting our Good Neighbor Pharmacy customers in their endeavors to ensure equitable healthcare access, and with the launch of the Good Neighbor Pharmacy Scholarship, we are extending that focus to support historically underrepresented groups within pharmacy practice. This program isjust one small step in advancing inclusion across the pharmacy industry - but we remain committed to being active participants in this journey."

Initially announced at ThoughtSpot 2022, the Good Neighbor Pharmacy Scholarship program is the product of the AmerisourceBergen Foundation and Good Neighbor Pharmacy's shared commitment to the advancement of inclusion across the pharmacy profession, where there remains a marked lack of diversity.

"Today, less than 22% of all licensed pharmacists in the United States are non-white - and only 5% are African American," said Ann Anaya, AmerisourceBergen's SVP & Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. "And while the total number of Black and African American students enrolled in pharmacy schools has increased in recent years, this group represents only 9% of the total pharmacy school population. Diversity in healthcare is essential to advancing health equity and supporting cultural competencies within specific communities - and as this data implies, there is still more work to be done to build a pharmacy workforce that is truly representative of the diverse patients and communities that pharmacists care for every day."