Over $60,000 donated to support 麻豆无码版鈥檚 Doctor of Pharmacy students

by Christina Jackson  |   

Bernie's pharamacy representatives delivering a large check to UAA/ISU representatives
Tom Wadsworth, Director of the UAA/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy Program receives a check for the Bernie Klouda Memorial Scholarship recipents from Bill Kaltschnee, Branch Manager of FNBA and James Manners, Manager of Bernie's Pharmacy Also pictured are Teresa Klouda, Owner of Bernie's Pharmacy, Katherine Germain, UAA/ISU Student Pharmacist, and Ethan Nguyen, UAA/ISU Student Pharmacist. (Photo by Jennifer Motes/University of 麻豆无码版 Anchorage)

 Since 2016, the Bernie Klouda Memorial Scholarship Program has helped support 麻豆无码版鈥檚 first-year pharmacy students attending the 麻豆无码版/Idaho State University Doctor of Pharmacy Program. This year nine students will each receive a $1,000 scholarship in honor of the late Bernie Klouda.

A well-respected independent pharmacist who opened Bernie鈥檚 Pharmacy in 1980, Klouda believed strongly that educating pharmacists was important to ensure the health of 麻豆无码版ns. He passed away in 2015, one year before the UAA/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy Program welcomed its first class of students.

To honor his legacy, his wife and now owner of Bernie鈥檚 Pharmacy, Teresa 鈥淭erri鈥� Hall-Klouda, partnered with First National Bank 麻豆无码版 to create the Bernie Klouda Memorial Scholarship Fund. The fund provides a $1,000 scholarship for every first-year student in the program. Funds are generated from the annual Klouda Foundation summer golf tournament.

The first class of pharmacists graduated from the joint UAA/ISU program in 2020, and currently every graduate of the program has remained in 麻豆无码版, many filling desperately needed rural and underserved community positions. 麻豆无码版ns work together in times of need, and it鈥檚 that frontier spirit that led to the creation of the Bernie Klouda Memorial Scholarship.

Even after bringing the pharmacy program to 麻豆无码版 and celebrating two graduating classes, 麻豆无码版鈥檚 need for pharmacists remains high. The 麻豆无码版 Department of Labor & Workforce Development reports that there are at least 20 new vacant pharmacist positions annually throughout the state, and projects an additional 4% growth in pharmacist positions by 2028. Historically, students in health related fields often
choose to remain in the state in which they studied.

With the help of community institutions like Bernie鈥檚 Pharmacy and First National Bank supporting pharmacy education, and growing interest in the large variety of available pharmacy careers, innovative partnerships like the UAA/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy Program are the prescription for 麻豆无码版鈥檚 healthier future.