College Personnel, Students Jump Into the Fray When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in earnest in March, the URI College of Pharmacy’s many experts were uniquely positioned to jump into the fight and help ease the impact on patients and the state. Pharmacy professors, researchers, administrators and students answered the state Health Department’s call for assistance in case investigation, contact tracing and cluster outbreak management. Experts from the College advised the state and residents on such issues as testing procedures and the importance of social distancing. The College’s Pharmaceutical Development Institute produced hand sanitizer at a time it was particularly difficult to find. Professors volunteered to fill the severe shortage of pharmacists at the state field hospitals, should they become active, and others worked directly with the state performing outreach to positive patients and helping with contact tracing. Students also signaled their willingness to enter the fray, taking advantage of the state’s offer to issue emergency 90-day licenses to bring more pharmacists into frontline healthcare positions, and some others are working with a professor in the College’s labs on COVID-19 testing technology.. The college collected N95 masks, ventilators, gloves, disposable gowns, face shields, IV poles, laboratory equipment and hospital beds to donate to area hospitals. College personnel also collected iPads and Fire tablets to donate to hospitals and nursing homes for quarantined patients to use, and provided ongoing tech support. “I was amazed by the diversity and creativity of our initiatives during the initial stages of the COVID pandemic,” professor and dean E. Paul Larrat told the Providence Journal. “Our faculty, staff and students unselfishly stepped in to help those at greatest risk of contracting the virus in a very stressful environment.” Read on for more details on the College’s response to the pandemic.
COVID-19 Service on the Front Lines
4 / URI COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
Clinical Professor Rita Marcoux and Senior Development Scientist Saleh Allababidi produce hand sanitizer in the College’s Pharmaceutical Development Institute.
