Today, New York State Health Commissioner James McDonald, MD signed the statewide standing order for the Birth Control Access Act, introduced by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2023, authorizing pharmacists to expand access to hormonal contraception.
The signing was hosted at College Parkside Pharmacy, an Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences’ student-supported pharmacy located on Lark Drive with Whitney Young Healthcare. The law will allow pharmacists to prescribe and distribute three forms of female contraception — the pill, the patch and the ring.
Governor Hochul has identified this as the state’s response to overturning of Roe v Wade which restricted access to abortion and reproductive health care in other parts of the country.
In response, ACPHS has pharmacists and public health professionals available to provide context on this critical issue. In addition to two student-supported pharmacies in underserved communities in Albany and Schenectady, ACPHS also touts its Collaboratory, a public health one-stop-shop for community members in Albany’s South End.
The experts include:
Paul Pagnotta ’92, RPh, Pharmacy Operations Manager and Clinical Services
Paul oversees the two ACPHS student-supported pharmacies in medically underserved areas of New York's Capital Region, one in Albany and one in Schenectady, as well as formerly owned a community pharmacy in Delmar. He works closely with the students putting their studies to practice as part of this experiential learning program, a unique opportunity to learn the entire range of pharmacy operations - from patient care to inventory management.
Katie Cardone ’06, PharmD, BCACP, FNKF, FASN, FCCP, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and PharmD Co-Program Director, Residency Program Director, PGY2 Ambulatory Care
Dr. Cardone is passionate about ambulatory care and community pharmacy. Although she primarily works with people who have kidney disease, her work often focuses on helping people address medication needs that intersect with social needs. She was the inaugural Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services at The Collaboratory where she led the development and implementation of a public health pharmacy team in Albany’s South End community.
Stacy Pettigrew, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor, Director of the Collaboratory
In addition to her extensive work in environmental health sciences, Dr. Pettigrew oversees the Collaboratory, an ACPHS public health resource serving members of Albany’s South End community. The team at the Collaboratory works to counsel on medication use, provides preventive services and runs a Food as Medicine program designed to alleviate health disparities in the community.