FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2016
Media Contacts:
Chad Clinton
Associate Director, Public Relations
American Pharmacists Association
(202) 429-7558
WASHINGTON, DC – The Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA) has selected Ronnie R. Felts, Ph.D., as the recipient of the 2016 Bowl of Hygeia Award for outstanding community service. Felts was presented the award at the 129th TPA Summer Meeting on Monday, July 18. The Bowl of Hygeia is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations and the American Pharmacists Association with support from Boehringer Ingelheim.
Felts has been an advocate of the profession of pharmacy and a friend to the TPA for a number of years. His contributions to the profession and to his community are highly visible on the local, state and national level. Some examples of his commitment to the profession and patient care include: his work improving pharmacy workplace safety and enhancing patient care through the use of the controlled substance monitoring database; his service on the Tennessee Drug and Diversion Task Force; testifying on a national level about drug diversion to the U.S. Congress; and developing and presenting a community pharmacy diabetes program at Joelton Prescription Shop with a concentration on diabetic education, treatment, and management of diabetes as a couples' disease.
Felts is also highly involved in his community, as he has served as a board member and chairman for his church, as well as on numerous committees. Felts taught in the boys youth department for five years, and served as charter president for Joelton Civitan Club. Together with his wife, Sandra, Felts developed a marriage enrichment program that they have presented at churches and Christian retreat centers in four states. He was also appointed by Joelton Mayor Richard Fulton to serve on Committee for restoration of Union Station and featured in Community Newspaper as “The ‘Greatest Guy’ – A Father’s Day Tribute.”
Established in 1958, the Bowl of Hygeia Award recognizes pharmacists who possess outstanding records of civic leadership in their communities and encourages pharmacists to take active roles in the affairs of their respective communities. The award is presented annually by participating state pharmacist associations, including those in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition to service through their local, state and national pharmacy associations, award recipients have devoted their time, talent and resources to a wide variety of causes and community service.
The Bowl of Hygeia is the most widely recognized international symbol for the pharmacy profession and is considered one of the profession’s most prestigious awards. The Bowl of Hygeia has been associated with the pharmacy profession since as early as 1796 when the symbol was used on a coin minted for the Parisian Society of Pharmacy. The bowl represents a medicinal potion and the snake represents healing. Healing through medicine is precisely why the pharmacy profession has adopted the Bowl of Hygeia symbol.
About the American Pharmacists Association Foundation
The APhA Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., is a trusted source of research demonstrating how pharmacists can improve health care. The APhA Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s health through pharmacists’ patient care services. The APhA Foundation is affiliated with the American Pharmacists Association, the national professional society of pharmacists in the U.S. For more information, please visit the APhA Foundation website www.aphafoundation.org. Follow the APhA Foundation on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.
About the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations
The National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) promotes leadership, sharing, learning, and policy exchange among pharmacy leaders in all 50 states and Washington, DC, and provides education and advocacy to support pharmacists, patients, and communities working together to improve public health. NASPA was founded in 1927 as the National Council of State Pharmacy Association Executives (NCSPAE). For more information, please visit the NASPA Web site www.naspa.us.