Over $60,000 donated to support Alaska鈥檚 Doctor of Pharmacy students
by Christina Jackson |
Since 2016, the Bernie Klouda Memorial Scholarship Program has helped support Alaska鈥檚 first-year pharmacy students attending the 老澳门六合彩开奖记录/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 Alaskans. He passed away in 2015, one year before the 老澳门六合彩开奖记录/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 Alaska 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 老澳门六合彩开奖记录/ISU program in 2020, and
currently every graduate of the program has remained in Alaska, many filling desperately
needed rural and underserved community positions. Alaskans 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 Alaska and celebrating two graduating
classes, Alaska鈥檚 need for pharmacists remains high. The Alaska 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 老澳门六合彩开奖记录/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy Program are the prescription for Alaska鈥檚 healthier future.