The Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center continues to focus on its goal of nurturing pharmacy entrepreneurship, sponsoring the college-wide business plan competition. The event, combined with an entrepreneurship dinner, brought together more than 30 attendees including students, faculty, and independent pharmacy owners.
Peak Pharmacy, developed by second-year pharmacy students Emily Fisher, Charlize Johnson, and Samantha Shilhavy, won the competition, each receiving a $1,500 scholarship.
"What I love most about independent pharmacy is the ability to care for patients as individuals with unique goals, and I truly believe we capture that through this plan," said Emily Fisher, who gained practical experience working at a local independent pharmacy following her first competition.
What I love most about independent pharmacy is the ability to care for patients as individuals with unique goals, and I truly believe we capture that through this plan ...
The winning team's vision focuses on enhancing an existing pharmacy with personalized care services tailored to community needs. Charlize Johnson discovered her passion for pharmacy entrepreneurship through the competition.
"Peak Pharmacy is different from the majority of independent pharmacies because of the variety of services we offer including our niche service that allows us to serve every member of the community during all aspects of life,” she says.
Samantha Shilhavy emphasized their strategic approach: "We put a lot of effort into ensuring our business plan stood out through the addition of creative services and marketing. A traditional pharmacy is great, but innovation is required for success."
Student pharmacists Sarah Carro, Grace Lian, Kyara Rodriguez Smith, and Noah Raganschmalz took second place in the competition for their creation of “Harvest Health Pharmacy” and received $1,000 scholarships.
Patti Fabel, executive director of KPIC, expressed pride in the event's success. “We are so appreciative of the support from our panel of independent pharmacy owners and judges for the competition, Ranarda Jones, Kyle McHugh, and Jarrod Tippins.”
The competition is one of McHugh’s favorite events.
“It engages the students in independent pharmacy and how it works,” he notes. “The students work so hard. I wish we had more participation because the ones we see are so creative.”
The Peak Pharmacy team moves on to compete at the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. The top three teams will be named in July.
Topics: Pharm.D. Program, Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center