Over $60,000 donated to support Alaska鈥檚 Doctor of Pharmacy students

by Christina Jackson  |   

Bernie's pharamacy representatives delivering a large check to 新加坡六合彩开奖/ISU representatives
Tom Wadsworth, Director of the 新加坡六合彩开奖/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy Program receives a check for the Bernie Klouda Memorial Scholarship recipents from Bill Kaltschnee, Branch Manager of FNBA and James Manners, Manager of Bernie's Pharmacy Also pictured are Teresa Klouda, Owner of Bernie's Pharmacy, Katherine Germain, 新加坡六合彩开奖/ISU Student Pharmacist, and Ethan Nguyen, 新加坡六合彩开奖/ISU Student Pharmacist. (Photo by Jennifer Motes/University of Alaska Anchorage)

 Since 2016, the Bernie Klouda Memorial Scholarship Program has helped support Alaska鈥檚 first-year pharmacy students attending the 新加坡六合彩开奖/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 新加坡六合彩开奖/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 新加坡六合彩开奖/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 新加坡六合彩开奖/ISU Doctor of Pharmacy Program are the prescription for Alaska鈥檚 healthier future.