By Kristi Lopez

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A model Rite Aid Pharmacy officially was dedicated Nov. 9 to provide students with hands-on professional pharmacy experience in a college setting.

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The $60,000 state-of-the art model pharmacy is located in the College’s Lesshafft Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory, which includes nearly 6,000 square feet and has six basic areas of instruction.

"The UK College of Pharmacy appreciates this generous support from Rite Aid. Their efforts have resulted in a greatly enhanced learning environment that provides our students with this opportunity to further develop their patient care skills," said Kenneth B. Roberts, Ph.D., Dean of the UK College of Pharmacy.

Rite Aid President and Chief Operating Officer Mary Sammons and Senior Vice President Eric Sorkin attended the dedication along with many local and national Rite Aid representatives.

"Pharmacists continually are ranked as on of the most trusted professionals and are in high demand due to the increased number of prescriptions being filled. This unique and innovative learning environment will not only attract potential candidates to the UK College of Pharmacy but also will provide them with practical experience vital in today’s pharmacy workplace," Sammons said.

The model pharmacy is designed like a real Rite Aid pharmacy to provide students with a hands-on experience in a retail pharmacy setting. The pharmacy enables the College to teach prescription processing, quality control and quality improvement strategies and appropriate supervision of technical personnel.