Participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s

The university provided invited guests a sneak peek at its new classroom building

Rondall Allen with scholarship benefactor Carolyn Elmore

Afterwards, guests -- donning hard hats -- toured the first floor of the structure with 125,000 gross square-feet across College Backbone Road from the university’s Engineering and Aviation Science Complex, which opened in 2016.

UMES launched its Doctor of Pharmacy program in 2010 under former President Thelma B. Thompson, who enlisted the late state lawmaker, D. Page Elmore, as an ally to help the university secure mandatory approvals and funding to create the graduate program. Dr. Carolyn Elmore, his wife, traveled from Florida to attend the event and sentimentally shared that she wished he had lived to see the fruition of one of his favorite constituent service projects.

In its first 10 years, UMES’ pharmacy school has produced some 440 licensed pharmacists -- and most recently six doctorates in pharmaceutical science.

One Ph.D. graduate is engaged in promising research to create a reliable test that hopefully will help physicians shape an early treatment regimen for patients starting to exhibit COVID-19 symptoms.

Dr. Brandy Inkrote Taylor, an alumna who graduated in 2015, said the new building “is quite impressive. When I was here, people really didn’t know there was a pharmacy school at UMES.”

“It’s encouraging to hear that the university sees the value in having the various health professions’ students working together,” she said. “It’s so important.”

In the fall of 2020, the Maryland State Arts Council announced UMES qualified for a $260,000 grant through its Public Art Initiative to help the university with coordinated aesthetics for interior décor as well as entrance plazas and sidewalks.

Construction was halted for Hard Hat Day ceremonies so guided tours of the partially completed building could be conducted safely. The building is on schedule to be completed by mid-2022, with the first classes expected to be held starting with the fall semester.

Alzheimer’s isn’t stopping. Neither are we. Participating in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Written by Blair Yesko, Class of 2022

This year, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) School of Pharmacy participated in the Alzheimer’s Association’s, “2020 Walk to End Alzheimer’s” to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care. This event usually takes place in Salisbury, Maryland, but due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2020 walk was conducted virtually. The UMES Chapter of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) worked in conjunction with Salisbury Walk Leader, Leslie Zimmerman, to ensure that walkers would still get an “in-person” experience this year. All walkers who joined the UMES School of Pharmacy (SOP) team would receive a yard sign and flags to walk with. If walkers individually raised over onehundred dollars for their team, they would also receive a Walk Day t-shirt.

On October 31st, 2020, Walk Day occurred. The Salisbury “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” allowed teams to participate virtually to allow for small groups to remain socially distanced. Walkers participated through tracking steps wherever they chose to complete the walk. The “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” App allowed for easy step tracking, as well as allowing for motivational speeches that would have been played on loudspeakers at the live walk, to be played through the app as walkers completed the race.

Overall, the UMES School of Pharmacy ASCP Walk Team, took the virtual race in full stride. Among many Salisbury teams, the UMES SOP Walk Team placed second in the steps category, with 34,959 steps completed. Alongside these steps, the team raised $1,125 for the Alzheimer’s Association. A huge thank you goes out to all who participated and to Mrs. Rodriguez-Weller, the UMES ASCP Chapter Advisor and the coordinator between UMES and the Salisbury Alzheimer’s Association.

The upcoming 2021 “Walk to End Alzheimer’s,” on October 30th, 2021, has plans on being held in-person. Registration has already opened, and the UMES ASCP organization would like to challenge UMES to take more steps and raise more for the Alzheimer’s Association than this past year! The link to registration is listed here: https://act.alz.org/ site/TR/Walk2021/MD-GreaterMaryland?fr_id=14527&pg=entry

Thank You to Our Healthcare Heroes!

UMES School of Pharmacy thanks the Healthcare Heroes who worked fearlessly on the COVID-19 Front Lines. We are grateful for your unwavering commitment, dedication, and sacrifice to the public.

We want to stay up-to-date on what you’re doing, your achievements, and your significant life events. Please use this link to share your news with us. https://www.umes.edu/Pharmacy/Content/Contact-Us/

J.T. Williams Hall, Suite 2104 • Princess Anne, MD 21853 umes.edu or email umes-sop-alumni@umes.edu