DRUM ROLL PLEASE: Four winners earn $20,000 in total grants from Wellspring awards program

From improving glycemic management to ensuring pharmacy students are trained to provide care for LGBTQ+ patients, this year’s Wellspring Pharmacy Leadership award winners are determined to make a difference in their communities and beyond. Created by the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy—a national charity founded to advance the pharmacy profession—to honour the legacy of pharmacy leader Barbara Wells, the Wellspring Pharmacy Leadership award provides grants of up to $10,000 in total each year for pharmacist-driven initiatives that advance personal development and leadership. This year, in recognition of the pharmacists’ contributions during the pandemic, the maximum annual grant total was raised to $20,000. Four pharmacists were named as recipients: Alyssa Aco at Costco Pharmacy in Edmonton, associate professor Feng Chang at the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy, Jane Ling at North Durham Family Health and James Morrison at Whole Health Pharmacy Partners. Read: After their starring role during the pandemic, will pharmacists continue to shine post-COVID? Alyssa Aco Aco, who is also a lab facilitator at the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, plans to use her grant to identify gaps in communication and care for patients who are hypo- or hyperglycemic, and to design a standard practice protocol for glycemic management. Feng Chang Chang will put the grant towards enrollment in Harvard Medical School’s media and medicine program. Her goal is to use the knowledge from this program to reach audiences with stories that will drive change in the profession. Jane Ling Innovation is a big focus for the Wellspring award program. Ling, who is president of Pharmacists for a Smoke Free Canada, will use her grant to develop a no-cost virtual lower risk nicotine education symposium for pharmacists. This undertaking will include providing harm reduction and vaping cessation algorithms, as well as sharing knowledge that can help pharmacists support patients with harm reduction strategies. James Morrison For Morrison, who is director of pharmacy excellence at Whole Health, the Wellspring award will provide support as he completes his Master of Science in pharmacy degree from the University of Saskatchewan, where his thesis will focus on how educational institutions are adapting their curricula to ensure students learn how to care for LGBTQ+ patients. Since its launch in 2012—two years after Wells died—the Wellspring Pharmacy Leadership program has provided grants to 29 pharmacists. Read: 2020 Wellspring Awards winners seek to innovate daily pharmacy practice, enhance patient feedback

DRUM ROLL PLEASE: Four winners earn $20,000 in total grants from Wellspring awards program

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