•From the Executive Director• Penny Shelton, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP
Operation COVID-19 Until late February, I would bet that most of us had never heard the word “coronavirus” before. I dare say, I had not. I mean I knew about SARS and MERS, but until COVID-19, coronavirus was just not a term for which I was familiar. It makes it even harder to reconcile that, according to the CDC, coronaviruses date back to the 1960’s. Fast forward sixty years and “coronavirus” is most likely a strong contender for Oxford Languages 2020 “Word of the Year.” I hope that all of you and your families are staying safe during this time. Here at NCAP, we have moved to a remote work policy, with assigned days for individual employees to work or retrieve work in the office. Although this creates some unique challenges for the staff, we are working hard to make sure that our member services are provided as seamlessly as possible. Our new President, David Phillips, took the reins in January, and he makes mention in his column of our 2019 Annual Report. I had hoped that my column for this
first issue of 2020 would be filled with celebratory notes, first reflecting on 2019 as a record year for NCAP, and second sharing historical moments as 2020 represents our 20th Anniversary Year. But, these sentiments will rightfully have to wait, as our nation turns attention to stemming the morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19. NCAP has shifted a considerable portion of my role to focus on COVID-19 and needs for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians during this crisis. Our operation status is seemingly all things COVID-19. I see NCAP’s role during this pandemic three-fold and essential. First, everyone has been and is continuing to experience COVID-19 information overload. One role the Association serves for our members is separating the wheat from the chaff, and feeding you important, as well as relevant information. We are trying to build a repository of such important information, and have created a NCAP COVID-19 Resources page on our website. We have divided the resources into three domains: North Carolina Information, Federal Information, and General Practice Information. As we receive information we place the content under the appropriate domain and often send a message out to either all members or to a specific group of members, based on the subject matter. Page 4
The second role that the Association provides for our members during this time, is representation. There are a number of stakeholder meetings taking place weekly and pharmacy’s voice needs to be heard. While you are on the frontlines providing much needed care for patients, the Association is speaking up for you to make sure you have what you need and that pharmacists are not an afterthought when serious discussions are taking place about essential health care workers. If you run into barriers or have specific needs in your day-to-day operations, while trying to care for patients, please do not hesitate to email me at penny@ncpharmacists.org. In addition, the Association plays a role in sharing pharmacy’s perspective with the media. The phone rings, regularly, with reporters wanting to gather information about how COVID-19 is impacting pharmacy operations and patient care. A third role that I see the Association fulfilling during this pandemic, is the gathering of and coordination of staffing needs. We have many pharmacists and pharmacy technicians willing to volunteer to help out pharmacies in need. Although we have not yet had a call from a pharmacy in need of help due to either increased volume, or because a staff member has fallen ill to COVID-19, we know from other
