Dear Campus Community:
Happy World Health Day! Each year on April 7, the World Health Organization shines a spotlight on global health. This year the focus is “Health for All.”
What does that have to do with all of us at ACPHS?
Everything.
There are places in ACPHS’ sphere of influence where the connection to creating health for all may be obvious. At the Collaboratory and student-operated pharmacies, for instance, our students and faculty offer guidance and treatment in medically underserved communities. Some of you volunteer or participate in rotations in neighborhoods with limited resources. You are contributing to health for all right here in the Capital Region.
Many of you also spread this work beyond the region. You provide health or wellness services in your hometowns, participate in mission trips to other countries, or serve in health-related associations locally, nationally or internationally.
There are on-campus connections to the “Health for All” goal as well. Research and training going on in our laboratories and at CBET contribute to addressing some of the world’s most pressing health issues, such as new prevention strategies or remedies for HIV, breast cancer and infectious diseases. Learning how to communicate well with patients of all backgrounds to offer counsel on medication use and other treatments will surely prepare you to improve their health one day.
At ACPHS, our mission is to educate the next generation of leaders to improve the health of our society. We do that every day in our classrooms, our laboratories, through our experiential learning, through service and public engagement, and in partnership with community organizations. The education provided here, the research conducted here, the values shared here –all of these contribute to creating a world where there is “Health for All.”
So, celebrate today. Honor yourselves for your continued hard work. And together let’s solve problems that change the world.
Sincerely,
Toyin Tofade, MS, PharmD, BCPS, CPCC, FFIP
President and Professor