FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2017
Media Contacts:
Chad Clinton
Associate Director, Public Relations
American Pharmacists Association
(202) 429-7558
WASHINGTON, DC – The Nevada Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy (NVSHP) has selected Mark Decerbo, PharmD, as the recipient of the 2017 Bowl of Hygeia Award for outstanding community service. Decerbo was presented the award at the 2017 Annual Meeting on Saturday, October 28. 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.
Decerbo has contributed to his community since graduating from the Bouve College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Northeastern University in 2001. He provides clinical pharmacy services to the internal medicine teams at University Medical Center (UMC) of Southern Nevada and is currently serving his third-term as 1 of 5 pharmacists on the Medicaid Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee for the State of Nevada, having been recently reappointed by Governor Brian Sandoval. He has been the co-advisor of the Roseman University APhA-ASP/SSHP Chapter for 15 years, and has been the recipient of over $20,000 in grant funding from Impact Las Vegas and HepBFree Las Vegas for his work in expanding free pharmacist-driven health screenings in Clark County. He regularly serves as an expert witness in criminal proceedings as well as for private counsel in civil/medical malpractice cases, and was featured in the 2016 edition of “Distinguished Men of Nevada”.
Decerbo has been actively involved with the APhA House of Delegates, the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Student Chapter. His civic and community service memberships include the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society; American College of Clinical Pharmacy; American Pharmacists Association; American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition; and Rho Chi Pharmaceutical Honor Society. 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 an active role 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 website www.naspa.us.